Mad Season
by Libertyne
Summary: Leon/OFC fic. Companion story to Dom/Letty fic called How We Are @ /s/4252060/1/. Please R/R. I'd greatly appreciate it! Starts off in 94-95 and will eventually work it's way into the movie. Enjoy.
1. Please read first

**Author Notes:** My friend Caty was already beginning to write a story based on Dom and Letty called "How We Are." ( .net/s/4252060/1/How_We_Are ) I decided to write a companion piece to the story featuring another character, and Leon is the one I chose. In the movie there are only 2 other main females… one which was with Dom and the other who had an interest in Brian. I decided to create a character for Leon. First of all, I'd like to say that this story takes place both _before_ and _during_ the first movie. I know a lot of people hate original characters because they're considered Mary Sue, but my character Amber is far from perfect. As you'll read in the story, she has flaws… all the characters do.

Please know that I started this story in **2001** and wrote fifty chapters. After an 8 year delay, I finally got back into the groove of things and have decided that I need to finish this story that I started. I had a website up with the chapters but geocities is closing down so I need a new place to put this.

Now I have people asking me where some of the other characters are (Jesse and Vince to name a few…) and I keep forgetting that I'm ahead of myself on chapters and know when they'll come in. This story starts off in 94 – 95 and will eventually fall into 2001 when the movie takes place. Vince and Jesse **will** be a part of the story, just not this early on.

So please enjoy the story and read Caty's part. It is the epitome of awesome!

**Now for the disclaimers:** I don't own any part of the movie, so please don't sue! kthanx

**Also, feel free to R/R. If you like it let me know. If you don't, well, feel free to let me know too. I always appreciate constructive criticism! (keyword: constructive. You don't have the flame.)**


	2. Prologue

_**In your life you're gonna meet people. Some you will never think about again, others that you'll wonder what happened to them. There are some you wonder if they ever think about you, and then there are some you wish you never had to think about again, but you do.**_

_**-**__Unknown_

I did it again today. Got on-line at work, saw that The Cult is doing a concert in Anaheim later this month. Tickets go on sale next week. Drove home, walked through the door and went straight to the phone. Had to call Leon and let him know about the concert. I didn't remember until I heard his voice on the answering machine at the garage.

It's been two months now, and I keep forgetting. Keep forgetting that we're not together anymore; that I'm not supposed to love him anymore, not supposed to think about him…

I sit here, on the floor in front of the phone. I've been sitting here for hours, it seems like. I'm fidgeting. My hands clumsily clutch anything within their reach. I look down and realize that my fingers have a hold of something. They have this tight lock on a piece of jewelry that is resting on my left hand. A sharp glint of silver sparkles and I push back the pain that is beginning to rise again in my chest.

Here I am...still wearing a ring that's supposed to have absolutely no meaning to me anymore. I remember how when I first got it, I didn't want it. I thought it would feel like a huge weight on my chest. Leon had told me it was an heirloom...something so special that he wanted to give it to someone he knew would be in his life forever. I was flattered...maybe even a little speechless and after the argument, I finally took the ring. I wore it proudly and found that there was no weight. It didn't have any strings attached...it was just something that just is...

Well, something that _was_ anyway...

I laugh at the fact that I'm still wearing the ring that is meant for an eternity of happiness...an eternity of being together. I have to laugh because it's the only thing keeping me from crying again. I slide the ring off my finger and set it on the table. My hands are completely empty... like I don't have anything to hold onto anymore.

It's just weird you know? When you have a picture of how something's going to be and it turns out totally different.

I'm still sitting here... contemplating everything. Wondering how I let myself get so attached. What made me believe everything he's ever said? Why have I always jumped to believe what he has to say? Why do I always end up back with him? When did I start to think that he'd be in my life forever, even when we weren't together? I still can't believe that it's real, that we're really over. Everything runs through my mind: Where would I be without him? Who would I be without him? I thought I knew. I really thought that I'd proven that I could survive without him, that I didn't need him… I guess I was wrong, though.

I've tried to tell myself that I can't feel like this... that I can't put myself through this. I have to be strong... or at least look it. It's hard, though, because he's the only one who knows the inside of me. He's the one who sees the me who needs loving, the me I don't show to anyone else. He knows I'm not perfect, and he never expected me to be…. He knew my flaws and he still loved me.

I slump against the table, leaning my head on my arms, and close my eyes. It doesn't change anything, though. Leon's still gone, we're still over. A knock at the door brings me back to reality. I look up; rub at my eyes before looking over at the clock. It's still too early for Jason to be picking me up for our gig tonight… But it _would_ be like him to be early, just to annoy me. Kind of strange for him to knock instead of just coming in, though. I don't even know how I'm going to sing tonight…

He knocks again, and I finally get up. I don't even let the door open all the way before I turn and walk towards the bathroom. "You'll have to wait for me to get ready," I say, laughing a little as I see the mascara smeared across my fingers. "You're early, you know."

"Amber…" I hear, and it takes a minute for the voice to sink in. I turn, and it's _him_.

_Leon_.

"What…what are you doing here?"

"Well, uh… I realized what a huge mistake I made…realized how much I need you, how much I love you," he said, shifting his weight back and forth.

Looking at Leon, I feel all my emotions run through my body at once. Do you know how hard that is? To be able to love someone and hate them at the same time? I can't tear my eyes away from his... never could.

"Look," his fingers resting on the doorframe, like he's scared to step forward or something, "some shit went down…I don't have time to explain what happened. We're gone, the whole team…we're staying in Mexico for a while. I uh… I came back for you. I came back to see if you'd go with me." He pauses for a moment before looking at me again,

"So…will you?"


	3. Chapter 1

_**You gotta kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.**_

_-Unknown_

"Oh... this is just _rich_" I muttered, my arms crossed against my chest, glaring at the silver colored Honda. I looked around at the location... didn't really seem too safe to me. Dogs barked from behind chained linked fences, their growls showing their anticipation to be released.

You could still smell the smoke that was starting to ease from under the hood of the car.

"God," I sighed, rubbing my hands across the Goosebumps that began to form on my arms. "Just my luck."

I reached in my back pocket and pulled out a small white piece of paper and reread the writing on it. My eyes shifted to the side of the building and then back down onto the piece of paper.

"Well," I said, talking to myself _again_, "at least I made it here on time."

I didn't even bother forcing a smile. The whole situation just sucked. I knew I had to have my car checked out_. Knew_ it. I just thought that I could've held it off but then it had started to jerk on me earlier that day... it even cut off on me a few times.

I knew shit about engines... knew even less about cars. Didn't think there was a huge point in learning anything. I always figured the only thing I would've had to of known was the fact that oil changes were due every 6,000 miles... or something.

I had asked a co worker about where to go to get it checked out. He told me about this place... 'Can't get any better than Leon's.' Greg had said, practically gushing about the shop.

'Call Leon, tell him I said 'Hey,'' Greg said, shoving a piece of paper that had a name and address written on it, in my hand.

Yeah, he practically whored out the place for me. I wondered if and how much this Leon guy was paying him under the table to do it.

Funny thing is, I didn't think twice about checking out a different place first...

Granted, Greg was a bit... off. Always questioned whether the man was right in the head or not but I didn't have time to call around... I kinda decided to just take his word for it.

I had called the guy not too long after. He seemed nice, distracted, but nice. Kept yelling at someone in the backround to quit fucking around and to get back to work. A hint of an accent seemed to be placed in his voice, maybe New York-ish or something... sort of sounded like he had an edge.

"So," I had asked Leon after a minute or two of inquiries, "Do I have to set up a specific time or something...?"

"Nah," He laughed. "Go 'head an' bring it on in... I'll check it out for ya… see what's up with it."

I nodded, as if he could see me or something. "Alright... Thanks..."

I looked around again, this time I silently kicked myself for not getting a second opinion. I was nervous. Hadn't been in L.A. _that_ long to get to know every part of it... the place didn't seem that bad, though.

The garage doors were open and I could see tools lying around on the counters. Oil stained the concrete floors. The place was completely empty.

"Hello?" I called, walking inside the vacant garage."Anyone here?"

_Oh man,_ I thought_. This was like a plot to a scary movie. Girl enters abandoned place (stupidly, might I add) only to find herself running *upstairs* instead of out the door._

_If I'm forced to run in these heels, I'm gonna kill Greg._

"Hello?" I called out again... maybe with a hint of annoyance in my voice.

I could hear a shuffle in the back room. It looked like an office or something. Thinking it was safe; I walked to the door and knocked once before opening it.

"Hi," I began, "I'm here for -- " My eyes fixated on flesh. Male flesh. The dip on the back that is just right above the ass. A quick flash of the stomach which had light traces of a 6 pack on it, "Oh! I'm ...shit! So sorry!" I think I _squeaked_, my tongue heavy from embarrassment.

"Oh Shi --!" He said, sounding flustered, I closed the door before I could finish hearing what he had to say. "I'll uh...I'll b-be right there!" He yelled. _That_ I heard.

"Take your time," I mumbled weakly, my hands moved from my mouth to my eyes in an instant motion. I walked away from the door...very far away from the door.

I inhaled and forced myself to look around. Wanting to look at any and everything that would keep my mind off of the stupid crap I had just pulled.

_Wonderful first impression, Amber. Keep it up._

I looked at the cars that were sitting there. Some of them had missing engines, others had no tires and windows. They looked like they had been vandalized or something.

Oooh...The Wayward School for abused cars…It was like I was there for hours. I was starting to memorize every single part under the hood of the car. I actually could locate the oil stick. Well, at least I was *learning* something. I walked around a little, kinda looking at everything. Running my hands over the rough surface of cars that had yet to get paint jobs.

"Can I help you?" A voice finally broke the comfortable silence.

Christ you scared..." I said turning around so fast I think I caught whiplash, "me." I finished quietly, not recognizing the face of the man but the body that I imagined was beneath the coveralls he now wore.

"Riiight." He said, slowly. A confused look crossed his face as he shifted a little.

We stood there for a moment, looking at each other stupidly.

"Leon?" I asked, cocking my head to the side.

"That would be me..." He nodded, a small smile played at his lips.

"Oh, okay. Well, I think I talked to you ---" I started, my voice light and breezy.

"Right," He nodded. "You called about --" He said.

"Yeah," We both finished at the same time.

"Amber," I leaned forward and held out my hand.

"Thought so." He took my hand and shook it. Nice firm grip... the man had confidence. After a few seconds of just standing there, he shifted a little and then paused, "That your car?"

Leon turned away and started to walk towards the car, his fingers trailed lightly across the hood.

"Yeah," I muttered. "This piece of shit isn't really too reliable…"

"Honda Civic, huh? What year is this? 91?" He asked, finally circling the car.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Got it a few months ago. It keeps overheating. I think the head gasket might be cracked." I added, trying to sound like I knew _what_ the hell I was talking about.

He nodded. I couldn't tell if it was a 'I'm impressed' nod or an 'It just might be' type of nod.

"Oh," I said suddenly, "The A.C. isn't working either. I don't think it agrees with the L.A. heat." I tried to add a laugh in... wanting to ease up the mood just a little.

"You see any fluid leaking from the car, at all?" He asked me, tearing his eyes away from the car and turning to look at me. I tried to ignore the beautiful green specks I noticed in his eyes.

I blinked. "Fluid?"

"Yeah," He nodded slowly, like he was speaking to a child. "You know...it's usually, oh I dunno... liquid?"

My defenses went up quickly. "Well...I'm sorry...could you be more descriptive?"

He stopped circling the car and looked at me, "Was it clear or green?"

I hesitated for a second. "Clear"

"Uh huh. Well there's your answer." He said as if that explained it all.

"Well," I smiled. "Thanks for _that_ diagnoses. Guess we can all go home now, huh?"

"Not quite..." He said.

"Look, all I know is that Oil needs to be changed every 6 months and that cars usually require a thing called Gas... anything else is beyond me." I told him honestly.

"3 months." He replied, quickly.

"Excuse me?" I was lost.

"Oil, uh, needs to be changed every 3 months." He smiled.

"Can't even get that right." I mumbled to myself, "Okay... see, my point was that I don't know anything about cars. So... I need your clarification on this clear thing."

"Well," He began. "You have a leak somewhere underneath the car; it's most likely been draining it clean while you were cruisin' the streets or something. No water basically equals to your head gasket being drained and eventually it cracked."

"Okay, so I guess all those times I saw the water leaking from under my car... I should have gotten it checked out, huh?" I asked, knowing that it was essentially a rhetorical question.

He gave me a 'No shit' look.

"Well," I said a bit insulted, "Couldn't you just, I don't know, fix it?"

He chuckled and then it turned into a full laugh that echoed throughout the garage, "You mean like, _now_?" He asked.

I nodded slowly.

"Baby, things like this take _time_; especially cracked heads. I have to call around and see if I can find a replacement and then put it in..."

"So," I sighed, breaking it down quickly. "When and how much?"

"Thursday. Five Hundred even." He replied just as quickly as I had said it.

"Five Hundred dollars?" I said, I think, a little too loudly 'cause he winced. "Five hundred dollars," I repeated a little more calm, "for not putting _water_ in my car?"

"Well...there's more to it than that…" He said, shrugging his shoulders.

"Jesus Chr --" I stopped myself from cursing and took a deep breath. After a moment I looked at him, a hopeful smile swept across my lips. "I don't suppose you could go any cheaper, huh?" I asked, maybe a hint of begging in my voice.

"Actually, it's the cheapest you can get around here." He said.

His feet had to of been stuck to that concrete 'cause he wasn't gonna budge.

"Okay," I said, defeated, "Even though I know you sell that line to all your customers...I'll keep my car here."

He smiled. It was an honest smile. It was nice.

We stood there, staring at each other awkwardly.

"Well," I said wringing my hands. "Can I at least use a phone? I'm kinda stuck here or will that be another hundred?"

"Uh," He said, shaking his head as if he was in a trance, "Yeah! Yeah, sure," He nodded towards the door to that office place.

I don't know why but I felt a sense of heat rush to my face as I entered the office area. It suddenly became very hot in there. It wasn't as if I was uncomfortable. That was what was so funny. I felt oddly comfortable being in that area... being in that place completely. It was kind of small, yet homely.

"You look a little flushed." He said, nodding my way.

"... heat" I nodded, blushing even more. "I mean heat from the weather." I added quickly.

"Yeah, I can totally see that. It being a full on 72 degrees outside," He smiled.

_Ah... there went that sarcasm thing again..._

"You're such a funny little sucker... anyone ever told you that?" I said, throwing a fake smile his way.

"Hey..." He said. He had this flirtatious grin on his face. "Did'ya want to use the phone or not?"

I took it upon myself to sit in the desk chair. Not that I was trying to be rude or anything but I figured Leon wouldn't mind. I reached over and grabbed the phone, my fingers fumbled over the numbers nervously. I wasn't even sure if I had dialed the right number.

"Hello?" I said quietly into the reciever. "Jase," I sighed, "I really need you to come and get me...what? Jase, you wanna start this now? Look," I said softly, "Get your ass up and come and get me okay? I'm sorry, did I stutter?" I scoffed.

"Am I getting smart with would you know?" I heard a noise behind me and I knew Mr. Fix it over there was trying to cover up a laugh.

"Okay, thanks." I hung up the phone.

"Everything cool?" He asked me after a moment, his green eyes twinkled with amusement. I whirled the chair around to face him and smiled.

"Yeah," I said. "Everything's good. Well, at least in the sense that I won't have to sleep on the floor out there."

"Good deal," He smiled.

I shifted uneasily and started to chip the polish off of my nails.

"So, Leon..." I looked over at him after a moment. "How long have you been in business?"

"Awhile now." He replied. "I kind of... co-own the place."

I raised my eyebrows, "Oh? Well, that's kind of cool. Lotta business, huh?"

"Guess you could say that..." He said as if he actually considered it. "Actually, most of the customers are regulars."

"That's kinda cool, though." I noted. "You know, kinda having that whole familiar type thing goin' on."

He nodded, "Yeah."

I looked at the clock and realized I had been there for a little over 45 minutes. Jason sucked _so_ badly when it came to time…

"You haven't lived here long have you?" Leon said. I knew it wasn't a question but a conclusion.

"8 months. It's that obvious, huh?" I whirled around in the chair again.

"You just don't look as if you've been corrupted yet," He laughed. "You know what I mean?"

"No," I smiled. "But, I'm not sure if I wanna know. You know, me being so non corrupt-able and all."

_Non corrupt-able?_ Jesus, get it together Amber.

"So, what's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" He leaned forward. His eyes lit up in amusement.

"Oh, god…" I groaned, resting my head against the back of the chair.

"That bad of a day?" Leon asked.

"That bad of a line," I retorted, looking at him again. "Seriously, if you knew how many _cheesy_ pickup lines I have heard ever since I've lived here. Yeah, it's easy to be uncorrupted when you practically become immune to the lines that just _suck._" I sighed.

"Ah," Leon laughed, "So you haven't heard very many then?"

"I've heard _enough._" I pointed out.

"You sure? Well what about --" He began only to be cut off by a loud horn.

"Oh that's my ---" I said, pointing outside.

"Your ride --" He said.

"Yeah, looks like ---" I began.

"They came after all." He finished.

"Okay, so Thursday then?" I asked.

"Yeah, maybe mid afternoon." Leon nodded.

The horn blew louder and I flinched.

"Well Leon," I said after a moment, "It's good to meet ya."

"Thanks again!" I said as I made my way to the door.

"No problem," I heard him say a little faintly.

--

"Took you long 'nuff" Jason said as I climbed into the passenger's seat of his beat up truck.

"Took _me_ long enough?" I asked incredulous, "Bullshit, man. It took you forever to get here."

"Whatever, I had shit to do alright?" He said, pulling away from the garage.

"Yeah, okay." I scoffed, knowing damn well he was most likely playing the playstation or something.

I looked at Jason for a moment and my thoughts kind of scattered. He was my first love... my first everything and it was weird looking at him now and seeing how he really was...

Now to me, he was just a friend. Okay, an immature little twit who was sort of a friend.

At one point, I thought he was 'the one.' but as things went on, I realized he was just 'another one'.

I swear, they keep saying the right person will come along. I think mine got hit by a truck.


	4. Chapter 2

_**It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives.**_

_-- Unknown_

"Grand slam… eggs over easy and can I get a side of toast with that?" Dom said, throwing some sort of charming smile at Agnes, the fifty something year old waitress.

"I'll have --"

"Oh, and a side order of fruit... and some hash browns." Dom added, still looking over the menu.

"I'll take a --" I tried again, only to be cut off short.

"Can you make sure the bacon is crisp, too? Oh, and --"

"Dom!" I said, raising my eyebrows. "You're killing me here, dawg." I sighed and looked at Agnes, who looked bored. "I'll take a cup of coffee, black; cream on the side, please."

"Is that it?" She asked, tapping her pencil against the notepad.

"Yeah," I said looking at Dom, giving him a look to remind him _who_ exactly was paying for it. "Thanks."

"Sorry, man." Dom shrugged. "A guy's gotta eat, ya know?"

"Dude, it's Denny's not Home Town Buffet." I smirked.

I had met Dom a long time ago when my little cousin Letty would hang out with him and his sister Mia. We were never close or anything, but we were cordial. Letty used to idolize him; I think she even had a crush on him… I was never sure though. Dom was always considered the bad ass on the block, and 2 years ago, he cemented it by beating the shit out of the guy who killed his father. After Dom went to jail, I rarely saw Letty. She'd lived at home with her mom, who wasn't the greatest; she definitely wasn't up for mother of the year or anything. So when shit started getting bad at home for Letty, she started running the streets. She was hanging out with prostitutes and all kinds of shit. She never did nothin' though. Well, that's what she told me anyway, and I believed her. Social Services ended up intervening and my mom took Letty in. Letty still hung around those prostitutes and eventually one of their pimps took notice. I guess he wanted her to start workin' for him or something. He started harassing Letty and everyone she knew, including my mom. My mom couldn't take it anymore; not like she blamed Letty or anything, she'd tried to call the cops and nothing could be done and she'd ran out of options, until she got the idea that Letty should stay with me. I didn't have a problem with Letty living with me. We got along fine and she mostly stayed out of my way. She went to school and I was at the shop. The owner, Benny, ended up getting locked up for 10 years over some bullshit, so it was just me.

Sly, the pimp that was harassing Letty, eventually found out that she stayed with me. He started doing the crazy stalking bullshit and decided the best way to get his message across was to break into the shop and, well, break shit. He fucked all my customers' cars up and spread the message that anyone who brought their car into my shop might as well consider it damaged.

I couldn't take the shit anymore. Letty wasn't taking anything serious about Sly and I was just one person, so I sent Dom a letter and asked him to call me. He called, we talked about Letty and what was going on and he told me that when he got out, he'd help me get shit together.

Dom had three weeks left and I had even less time than that. I busted my ass for those three weeks, cleaning up the shop and calling all the customers whose car was damaged; well, all except one.

Dom finally got released and kept his word. He helped me whenever he got the chance. When I'd talked to him on the phone before, he'd seemed like a cool dude; when he got out, we hit it off even more. When it came to cars, Dom knew about 'em, and that was refreshing. He was a racer at heart though.

"So, what are you gonna do to get business back in the shop?" Dom asked.

I shrugged as Agnes set my coffee down in front of me, "I don't know. He fucked shit up bad."

"Well at least you got all the phone calls outta the way." Dom said, leaning back as she set his food in front of him.

I nodded, "Yeah, well," I amended, "all but one."

"Whatcha holding out for?" Dom asked, taking a bite of his bacon.

"Remember on the phone, I told you about that one chick? I dunno… I can't bring myself to call her and tell her about what happened. Most of the cars at the shop are people getting mods and shit, but this chick just moved here and it looks like she didn't have much to begin with…" I said, running my index finger around rim of my coffee cup.

"So what was her car in for?"

"Blown head gasket." I said.

"And she brought it in when?" Dom asked.

"Three and a half weeks ago." I mumbled.

Dom let out a loud laugh, "How are you even avoiding her right now? It doesn't take a month to fix a blown head gasket."

I rolled my eyes, "Well no shit; **you** know that and **I** know that, but _she_ doesn't know that."

"What the fuck you been telling her?" Dom said, biting into another piece of bacon.

"That I can't find the parts needed for it yet. I've kept her updated… sorta."

"I dunno, man. I think you need to tell her. You can't keep dancing around it… she's gonna find out eventually." Dom said, pointing his bacon at me.

"Yeah, yeah." I said, reaching over and stealing a piece of his toast.

Dom looked down at his plate and looked at me. "If you wanted something to eat, why didn't you just order it?"

I looked right back at him, challenging him a little as I bit into the toast, "Wasn't hungry at the time, now I am."

I heard the bell ring over by the front door and a loud laugh. I looked over to see what the noise was about and almost choked on the piece of stolen toast.

"Oh, shit." I said, under my breath.

"What?" Dom asked, looking at me.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck!" I swore. "When the fuck does shit like this _ever_ happen?"

"Leon," Dom said a little louder, "What the fuck are you talking about?"

I looked past his shoulder and then down at my coffee. "The girl." I said as if that were explanation enough.

Dom looked at me, confused look on his face. "I don't follow…"

"Dawg, the girl that we were _just _talking about? Just walked in." I said.

"No shit?" Dom said, looking behind him. "Well, don't worry… maybe she won't see you – never mind, she just saw you."

"Aw, fuck." I muttered. I looked down at my coffee, but out of the corner of my eye I saw her walking towards us. I reach over and grabbed a cup of cream and added it to my coffee.

"Hey, Leon."

I tried to look as nonchalant as possible as I looked up, "Oh, hey! Amber, whatcha doing here?"

She smiled and nodded towards the door, "Trying to get breakfast if the damn waitress would seat us already." She looked over at Dom and held out her hand, "Hi, I'm Amber."

Dom wiped off his hand with a napkin and shook it, "Dom." He nodded.

"Nice to meet you." She smiled. "So, how are things?" She asked, looking back at me.

"Good." I nodded. "I mean, they're great. Dom here is going to be helping me around the shop. Try to help ease the workload and stuff."

"Oh, well that's awesome. Listen, I _really_ appreciate how you've kept me updated, I really do, but have you found anything yet? I really hate depending on other people for rides to work…" She nodded towards the door again.

I looked past her and saw two people standing there, laughing with each other. One was a girl, about 19 or 20, dark brown hair, body like a dancer. The other was some guy, chiseled face, All American looking kind of guy. I don't know why but I figured he was the one that picked her up from the shop that one time.

I made a mistake of taking a huge drink of my coffee; it burned my throat as it went down, "I should have it soon." I said, clearing my throat.

"Okay… well, awesome." She smiled at me again.

"Come on, biatch!" The dark hair girl yelled over to Amber as the waitress led them to the table.

"Well," Dom chuckled. "They certainly seem like a joy to be around."

"Yeah…" Amber said, looking a little embarrassed.

"Get over here already!" It was the guy this time, "I'm starving and ready to order."

"Well I guess that's my cue to leave. So, um… you guys enjoy your breakfast and I'll see you around?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "See ya around."

I looked down at my coffee until she was at her table.

"She's cute." Dom noted.

"I'm so fucked." I sighed.

"Just tell her."

"I… I can't." I shook my head.

"Why? You like her _that_ much?"

"No, it's not that… it's just… fuck, I don't know."

I looked over at her table and saw her laughing with her friends. The guy reached over and brushed some of her hair away from her ear and whispered something in it. Amber threw back her head and laughed. Something about the situation just got me. I couldn't understand why I was letting this girl get to me. I liked Amber… a little. I mean, sure she was cute but damn, I'd seen cuter before… so why was this starting to bug me? Sure, she had a great personality from what I had seen but really, I didn't even know her. I kinda wanted to get to know her better… wanted to learn more about her.

"Looks like she's got a boyfriend." Dom noted.

"Yep. Look, whatever. I'll tell her when it's right."

"And that would be?" Dom raised his eyebrows.

"Anytime but right now." I said.

I stole another glance at the table and looked back at Dom. He quickly looked back down at his plate, but he had this huge fuckin' grin on his face.

"What?" I asked.

"Nothin'" Dom shrugged.

"Don't fuckin' start." I said, giving him a hard stare.

"I didn't say nothin'"

I sat there, thinking as Dom focused on finishing his breakfast. I thought about Sly and how much I wanted to beat his ass for all the problems he'd caused me. I thought about how much Amber would probably want to beat my ass when she found out. Then a stray thought entered my mind and I figured out a temporary solution for the mean time.

"You ready to go?" Dom asked, wiping his mouth with the napkin.

"Yeah," I said, leaning in, "listen… I got an idea…"


	5. Chapter 3

_A true friend stabs you in the front._

**-- Oscar Wilde -- **

**

One of my favorite hangout spots since I had lived in L.A. was this small little club. I went there with Jason and Jordan every Friday night, it was a tradition.

"Yo, A." Jordan said, throwing her arms around my shoulders as we walked into the clubs. "Have you seen Genji yet?"

"No," I looked at her. "Girl, you still on him like that?"

She grinned sheepishly, an expression that was just so un-Jordan - like and shrugged. "He's _so_ hot."

Genji was this guy that was in a band that Jordan lusted after. Every Friday she tracked him down into a corner and threw herself at him; another tradition.

"You need to find someone else." I told her.

"What I need to find is Genji," She smiled. "Talk to ya later, A." She walked off the other way.

If anyone knew anything about being subtle it sure wasn't Jordan. I rolled my eyes and continued to walk to the back of the club... in hopes to find someone I knew.

I spotted Jason in the corner, talking to some guy. They were hunched together, their mouths moving wildly.

Yikes, they really looked deep into conversation... I decided to move on.

I made my way to the bar and sat down.

"Well, look who it is."

"Hey, Joey." I smiled at the cute bartender.

"One Miller coming up." Joey said, already grabbing the drink for me.

Joey never asked for ID... which was a good thing, considering I was only 19. I guess he had just assumed I was 21 from day one and started serving me drinks. I wasn't complaining or anything... in fact, it was cool.

"So, whatcha been up to?" Joey asked, setting the beer down in front of me.

I looked over to see if Jason was still busy, he was, and turned back to Joey.

"Same as always." I sighed. "In other words..."

"Nothing, huh?" Joey finished for me.

"Exactly." I nodded.

"So, Amber," Joey leaned in a little. "When are we gonna get married, huh?"

I laughed and took a sip of my beer, "When did you become such a huge flirt?"

He shrugged, "Can you blame me for trying?"

Joey was a really nice guy; maybe _too nice_ for someone like me.

"You're crazy." I smiled a little. He was definitely kidding and maybe that was the problem. I mean, it wasn't like I was into Joey that way, he was too much of a good friend of mine, but I guess it was the reality of it that got me down a little. I couldn't ever find a 'good' guy. The only guy I had dated since I moved to LA was Jason... and that was a sad thing, considering that I still hung around him throughout all his bullshit. I guess I was in one of those moments where I just thought there was more to life than this...

"Lemme get another one of these Joey..." I said, finishing up the beer.

"You got it," he said.

"Look at you... over here drinking it up." Jordan's voice spoke in my ear. I turned to my right to see Jordan standing next to me, her lipstick smeared and a sheepish smile on her face.

"Guess you found Genji, huh?" I asked.

"What makes you say that?" She asked, tilting her head to the side.

"Dude," I said, rubbing what remained of her wicked red lipstick off of her chin, "could you make it anymore obvious?"

She rolled her eyes and sat down next to me, "Jo-eeeey, get me a mudslide, couldya?"

"I can't believe you drink that girly shit," I mumbled, nudging her.

"Shut up." She laughed. "It makes me feel sophisticated."

"Riiight." I nodded, "'Cause, you're _so _classy." I reached in my bag and handed her some lipstick.

"Thanks," Jordan mumbled, dabbing some on her lips.

"Here ya are, ladies." Joey said, setting our drinks down in front of us.

"Hey, Jo-eey." Jordan had drawn out again. That was her thing... to be different. She always had a little name for someone or a specific way of saying something.

"What's up, Jordan?" Joey asked, his elbows resting on the counter.

"Same ol' shit, my friend." Jordan chuckled. "So when are we gonna go out, huh?"

I sat back a little, watching Jordan and Joey flirt back and forth... I think I even rolled my eyes a few times. I mean... it wasn't like I was jealous or anything. I just didn't get Jordan most of the time. She had this way about her... like, either you like her or you hate her. If you liked her, you _really_ liked her and if you hated her... well then, you really wished she'd get hit by a bus. Basically it was a hit or a miss. Sometimes I loved Jordan, her charisma and the way she seemed so free... other times it was hard to like her because she was too open.

I was starting to get tipsy... thank God. I really think I needed to be drunk or something to get through that.

"Alright, Jordan..." I sighed, starting to feel the effects of the beer rubbing off on me. "Let's go find Jason and get the hell out of here."

"We just got here!" Jordan laughed, "just chill."

I looked at her, "Just... chill? Look, Jordan all I want to do is find Jason and get out of here.. is that... is that so hard?"

"I'm not ready to go... and look," She gestured around the club, "Jason is probably off doing his thing. It's the same shit all the time, A."

"That's right, it's the same shit all the time." I shot back, "That's why I'm suggesting we just leave."

"Heh," Jordan smirked... her blue eyes glistened, "I'm just trying to get acquainted with my good friend, Joey. So --"

"Oh," I nodded, "You mean like how you got acquainted with Genji, right?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Jordan asked, her tone growing hard.

"Nevermind..." I sighed, knowing it wasn't going to make anything better.

"No," Jordan said, "let's discuss this. What the hell is your probably anyway?"

I regretted even saying anything. It was totally pointless because of who I was dealing with. Jordan was the type of person who was just so sure about herself. Like, if you were to call her a bitch, she'd shrug and be a bitch...

"I mean," She continued, "do you need to like, get some action or something?"

"What?" I asked, "Uh, no."

"Then stop being such a prude!" She snapped.

"Alright," I said, standing up. "How about this? I'll stop being such a prude if you stop being such a slut."

"Whatever," Jordan shrugged. "Look why don't you call me when you learn how to have fun, okay?"

I just stood there looking at her. I could feel the humiliation start to build up inside of me. It was like she had won or something. I darted my eyes towards Joey and he just gave me this look... this look that said 'I'm sorry this happened in front of me.'

I shook my head a little, trying to clear out the scattered thoughts. Jordan loved to challenge me and she knew that I would cut back... she knew that I would back off and she would still come off as the one who was right in it all.

I reached in my pocket and pulled out some money, setting it on the bar.

"No..." Joey said, placing his hand on mine, "it's on the house."

"Alright." I said dryly, trying to shrug off all the pity he had just laid on me, "I'll see you later."

"See ya, A." Jordan said, turning back to Joey and their conversation.

Bitch.

I tried to walk out of the club as quickly as possible but ended up running into Jason.

"Hey!" He said, a stupid grin splitting across his face. "Goin' somewhere?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to push past him.

"What's wrong?" He asked, his hands resting on my shoulders.

I gave him a pointed stare, "Go ask Jordan."

He didn't even try to stop me... even if he had known what happened. He just let me go...

I ended up walking three blocks before deciding to call a cab. It was cold and I was tired; ready to sleep it all off.

I looked out the window... watched as people hung out outside of venues and places all around LA. It was times like these that I wished I had something... anything. Being around Jason and Jordan, I had people around me all of the time...

But I learned that sometimes even when you surround yourself with all these people... you can still feel completely alone.

For the first time in a long time, I wished I had a friend.


	6. Chapter 4

_Cheer up! The worst has yet to come!_

**-- Philander Johnson -- **

**

"Leon!" Letty stood over me, her hands on her hips, "Where'd you put the rags?"

"Under the counter... by the Lincoln." I told her absently, trying to focus on the oil filter I had been trying to get off for the past twenty minutes.

"Damn Leon!" I heard Letty swear, "You realize this place has to be clean by three?"

"What?" I asked.

"The inspector..." She said slowly, walking over to me again.

I stopped what I was doing and rolled from under the car, "What inspector?"

"Don't tell me you forgot... oh shit, Leon!" Letty shrieked. "Mia told you last month, remember??"

"She didn't tell me!" I stood up, starting to border on freaking out.

"Yes she did!" Letty insisted. "You even wrote it on the calendar."

Somewhere in the middle of Letty talking, I moved past her and into the office, ripping the calendar off the wall.

"Oh, shit!" I dropped it on the floor and looked around at the garage. It was a complete mess. Tools lay everywhere. The walls had grease stains on it... I was in deep shit.

I walked into the garage, gathering all the little shit off the floor and stopped in front of Letty. "Why are you standing here?" I asked her impatiently, "we have to start cleaning!"

"I swear, sometimes I wonder about you…" She muttered before stalking off to the back.

I swear I must've cleaned nonstop for an hour straight. Fortunately, Letty helped out and unfortunately, I had to listen to her bitch most of the time.

"You owe me big time!" Letty said for the twentieth time.

"Yeah, yeah." I muttered, "I'll give you lunch money for school or something."

"Real funny." Letty said, rolling her eyes.

"We don't have time to get everything perfect, so can you do me a favor and please just put things away for right now? I don't care where, either. Just toss 'em somewhere or cover them up real good."

"Alright." She said, walking off.

I kept checking the clock nervously... kept checking around the shop to see if it looked semi decent. There was no way I would have been able to relax.

Letty and I were literally running around like chickens with our heads cut off. We couldn't afford to lose the shop... not after how far we'd gotten with it.

I was straightening up the office when I heard someone enter the garage. My stomach twisted a little and I walked out to greet the inspector, only to be surprised.

"Hey," Amber said, smiling.

Oh. _SHIT_.

I had forgotten the fact that I had called Amber...hell, it seemed as if I had forgotten about a lot of shit.

I wanted her to meet me at the shop so I could tell her about her car. Now, it seemed that it wasn't the best idea. I looked over to where her car was and realized that Letty had put a car cover over it.

I wanted to do nothing more than to tackle Letty with a hug right then. I mean, I owed her big time.

"Hey," I tried to smile. "You're here."

"Yeah," she nodded. "Got your message. So what's up?"

"Uh," I started... trying to think of something -- anything -- to hold it off until after the inspection. "I wanted to talk to you."

"I figured that," she laughed, "about what?"

Just then some guy in a business type suit walked in the door. He looked around for a second before his eyes set on me.

I nodded at him and focused back on Amber. "Hey," I said, "I kinda have something to take care of first... could you wait in the office?"

She looked at me like I was crazy for a second, "Sure."

"It'll only be, like, a few minutes," I led her into the office, "Thanks."

When I walked back into the garage, the guy seemed to of made himself at home... looking around, he had a folder in his hand.

"Hi," I shook his hand. "Leon. Leon Mitchell."

"George Mallory." He nodded. "So Mr. Mitchell, it says here that you have been taking care of this shop for about 6 months?"

"That's right, sir." I said. "My boss left it to me to take care of it while he's incarcerated."

"Right." He said, "Okay... just have to go over some facts and then we can take a look around."

He started to pound the questions on me... I didn't understand why some were even relevant but I answered them anyway. After about 20 questions, we started to walk around the shop. Occasionally he would open his folder and write a few things down.

Those 'few minutes' turned into an hour as we made it to the storage room where we held most of our inventory. I was happy that I had always made sure to keep that organized, at least.

"Well," George said, jotting down a few more notes and looking at me, "Mr. Mitchell, it looks like this place is in decent shape... could work on a few minor things but we'll discuss that later. All in all, it passes the 6 month inspection." He ripped out a copy from his folder and handed it to me.

"Thanks." I said, feeling a huge weight lifting off my chest.

"You run a good place here." George added.

"I try," I bullshitted my way through the conversation. It was bad enough I had to spend over an hour with a guy who had a dead animal resting on his head but now I had to make small talk with him.

"Oh my god!" I heard just outside of the storage room. It sounded like it had come from the garage. I wasn't sure if I should have gone to see what exactly had happened or stayed with good ol' George.

Yeah, I ended up excusing myself for a moment to find out what had happened and why Letty was upset.

I walked into the garage to see Amber standing there, her hands over her mouth as she stood in front of her car.

Her car which no longer had a cover over it.

"Leon," Her voice was muffled. "_What the hell happened?_"

"Well," I started, not wanting to look at her so I looked at the car instead, "this is what I wanted to talk to you about."

"What the hell is this shit?" She pointed to the car and looked at me.

"Can we talk about this in a few minutes?" I pleaded.

"Can we talk about this? In a few minutes?" She cried. "What the fuck are you gonna tell me in a few minutes? That this dented piece of metal isn't my car?"

She was upset... I could see that. I couldn't do anything at the moment though. Luckily, Letty walked in from outside and saw what was going on.

"Letty," I walked over to her. "He's still here. She just saw the car. Outside _now_. Take her with you. Calm her down." I whispered.

"Oh come on, Leon! I have so much shit to do…" Letty said, rolling her eyes.

"C'mon, Let. Just do this one thing for me. _Please_." I begged.

"Fine." She snapped. She moved past me and approached Amber. She leaned over and whispered something in Amber's ear.

"Do I even know you?" Amber asked looking at Letty, as she led her out. "_Who_ are you?"

**

"Okay," I tried again as I sat on a railing outside, "so let's try this again. Who are you?"

"Letty." was the only answer I got.

"Oh, right. Well, that explains everything." I muttered looking away for a moment and then back at the girl.

She was so cool and calm... well of course, she had no reason to be otherwise. She stood there, looking bored and irritated with her arms folded across her chest. I couldn't sit still, so I jumped from the railing and started pacing back and forth. My car was inside, basically dead but not so buried, and I was out here...

"It'll be alright," She said, her voice filled with confidence. "Leon'll take care of it."

I rolled my eyes and continued to pace. "Can I go back in now?"

She looked back at the building and then back at me. "Give it a few more minutes... then we can go back inside."

"Why do we have to wait?" I asked impatiently.

"'Cause, there's some sort of inspector for the garage inside. Leon kind of needs to get him out of there before he can settle this whole issue with you." Letty shrugged.

So I had come close to ruining his whole deal with the shop? Fuck it. Hell if I was just gonna sit around and wait for _him_ to come to me. I wanted to deal with this now.

"Wait!" She said as I stood up. "You can't just go in there."

"Look," I turned to her, "there is no way I'm going to sit out here and wait for him to find the time to tell me something he should of told me a _long_ time ago, okay? So just save it."

She stared at me for a moment and I could tell she was debating on whether to respond to me or not. After a moment, a small smile appeared on her lips. "Fine. Go in and do whatever you wanna do. But don't be too hard on him, okay? He's a good guy, and he's usually bright… just not this time."

"I'm gonna kick his ass." I said, nodding my head as if I just confirmed something. "Yep, that's what I'm gonna do."

"Okay well, just don't kill him. I mean, he's my guardian so I kinda need him around..." She said.

"He's taking care of you?" I asked softly

"Yep. He's my cousin and he's helping me out right now."

That was almost sweet of him to do that. I still wanted to kick his ass, though. It was hard to imagine. I mean... he seemed a little young to be taking care of a teenager. I wondered if he was the type that had to like, hide his porn under his Guns N Roses albums or whatever he listened to.

"Don't worry," I told her. "I'll just chew him out...a little."

With that I walked past her and made my way into the shop. No one was even in there. I wondered if Leon and that guy were still in the back somewhere but then Leon emerged from the office.

"Hey." He said, slowing his pace a little.

"'Hey?'" I scoffed. "Is that all you got for me?"

"Well..." He started only to be cut short by me.

"Look Leon, I don't know what the fuck is going on, or what you've been holding out on me, but I do want to know what the hell happened to my car." I stood in my spot.

"It's a long story..." He said, standing in front of me.

"Well," I sighed. "You better start fucking explaining 'cause it looks like I'm stuck here. I mean, I have no ride back... I don't have a ride _anywhere_ now!" With each last word, I smacked him on the arm as if it were going to get through to him.

"How long has it been sitting here like this?" I asked, not wanting to look at the car.

"Um...lemme think... 3 weeks?" He held his hands up as if to defend himself.

That didn't work very well 'cause I smacked his arm again anyway, "3 _weeks_?" I screeched.

"Look..." He tried again.

No luck.

"I can't believe this!" I was starting to pace. "What... God, you know what? You suck."

"I... I _suck_?" Leon said, sounding as if he were trying to hold back a laugh.

I stopped and looked at him. "Yeah, you do. I can't believe you didn't tell me! I just saw you the other day in Denny's..." I stopped as something crossed my mind.

"You _lied_ to me!" I blurted out loud. "I asked you about it and you told me that it was almost ready... Oh my God... you _lied_ to **me**."

Why was I even surprised? I didn't even know. I hardly knew him, but at the same time, I felt as though I could trust him. I _did_ trust him. I hated being lied to. Lying was one of my biggest turn off's.

"I'm sorry." He said quietly. "I wanted to figure something out but I realized that it would have been best to just tell you. That's why I called you... 'cause I wanted to talk to you but then the inspector came in today and I had forgotten about it so the shop was a mess so me and Letty -- that's the girl who took you outside, you didn't kill her did you? -- cleaned up the shop a little and you came and I realized that I was in deep shit 'cause everything was coming at once, you know? So I tried to hide it until I got this thing out of the way and well... the rest you already know."

How he even breathed while saying all of that, I didn't know. I stood there and listened anyway and it was like all my anger was starting to drain from me.

"So," I said after a moment, "d'ya know who did this?"

"Yeah, some asshole named Sly. I'll explain it all to you in awhile. I'm _really_ sorry about your car. I promise... I'll fix it up for you okay?" He said.

"Well, the question is: what do I do in the meantime? I mean, I have a job to get to... and public transportation really sucks around LA." I sighed.

"Well," He hesitated. "That's another reason why I called you. I thought getting around would be a problem for you so I thought that maybe I could lend you my car in the meantime..."

I just looked at him, completely stunned and speechless.

"Wow..." I said after a moment.

"No bloodshed. I guess everything's okay then?" A voice said from behind.

I turned around to see Letty standing at the opening of the garage.

"Don't you have to go find Dom and harass him or something?" Leon asked.

"Actually..." She started.

"Or a clutch to work on?" Leon asked.

"Okay, I get your point." She sighed and started to walk towards a car.

"Hey, Letty?" I said. "Sorry for... you know, outside..."

"It's okay," She smiled. "But at this rate, I'm kind of wishing you _did_ kill him."

"Anyway," Leon rolled his eyes. "Does it sound like a plan?"

"Your car is reliable right?" I asked, scrunching my face.

"Yeah." Leon said.

"Oh my God!" I said suddenly, "It's not, like, your mom's old minivan is it?"

"What? Oh, God, no!" He said. "My mom's minivan?? She drives a Nissan! Okay, that's not the point... but, it's a Mustang, okay?"

"Oh..." I said, feeling stupid. "Okay."

"It's over here." He walked over to this black car. It was nice... if you liked older cars. He obviously fixed it up. The interior was all black leather. It looked like he put a lot of money into it.

"That's it..." He said quietly.

I looked at him, "You're gonna let me drive this?"

He hesitated for a second and swallowed. "Uh huh."

"Oh, man." I groaned. "You're totally nervous aren't you? About me driving the car? Look, it's totally fine, we can figure something else out..."

"No," He said. "It's fine. I trust you with the car. I just put a new clutch on the car so it should actually be easier to drive... and it already has water and all that shit so no cracked engine heads." He added a weak laugh to that.

"This is a stick shift?" I asked.

"Uh huh."

"Oh, that's just great..." I mumbled.

"What?" He asked.

"Um," I looked at him. "I can't drive stick shift... actually, I've never driven one before."

"Oh," He said quietly. "Well that's okay. I can teach you..."

He was totally trying to be enthusiastic, so I thought it would help if I were too.

"Yeah!" I agreed, "I mean, how hard could it be?"


	7. Chapter 5

_Gravitation cannot be held responsible for people falling in love._

**-- Albert Einstein -- **

**

"Easy!" I sat forward, my hands clutching the dashboard as the car jerked.

"Sorry!" Amber winced. "I told you that I never driven a stick before..."

"You just have to ease up a little." I told her. "You know, be coordinated."

"Coordinated... riiiight," She sighed. "You're telling this to the person who practically failed kindergarten because she couldn't stand on one foot."

"So that must be your childhood trauma." I laughed only to jerk back once again.

"Leon!" Her hands clutched the wheel as she turned to look at me, "I can't do this!"

"Yes you can." I said. "You'll get the hang of it. Now, try it again."

We had been at it for almost an hour. Somehow through it all, I managed to keep my cool as she grinded the gears and made the car jolt back and forth.

We got on a smooth course, though. I told her which way to go and she attempted to do it. Sometimes she would stall the car and other times she actually went along pretty well... slow, but well.

"Go left." I instructed making sure my seat belt was secure. When I saw the street we were turning on, I groaned. It was my old neighborhood where most of my old friends still lived. They all knew my car pretty damn well. It would've been fucked up if we stalled right in the middle of the street.

"Easy on the gear grinding." I warned her.

"I'm trying," Amber whined. "This car doesn't like me. Yep, that's what it is."

"Okay," I said as the car jerked again. "We're gonna --" _jerk._ "pull over. Right here."

I had to take a break. A huge one. Maybe even time to recover. I wondered if I could somehow get workman's compensation for this...

"I told you..." Amber said, interrupting my train of thought as soon as she pulled over.

"That you couldn't drive stick shift? Yeah, I know." I sighed. "Alright, it's cool. C'mon."

I got out of the car and started up the walkway to the house we pulled in front of.

"What are we doing?" Amber asked, getting out of the car.

"Taking a break." I told her, not bothering to turn around.

"Right. Yeah. Okay." I heard her say behind me.

I tried to turn the knob on the door but it was locked.

"Damn." I muttered, looking at the door.

I looked over to the window and started to fumble with the screen on it.

"Leon?" Amber asked slowly, "what are you doing?"

"Trying to get in." I said, finally getting the screen off.

"Oh my God," She said, her voice bordering on shock, "this is one of those robberies isn't it? How can you even think about doing this? With me here? First of all, I suck at driving... so I couldn't be a getaway driver or whatever... oh god, you're gonna get caught and I'll go down with you for being an accessory or something. I hope you get a lot for what you're going to steal, enough for bail money in fact, because I refuse to be stuck in jail with a big woman named Big Bertha who'll force me to give up my meals..."

"Well," I turned to her and smiled, "I'm not worried about the bail money... I'm sure my mom would help us out in that department... seeing how this is _her_ house and all."

"Oh," Amber said, her eyes narrowed. "You could have just told me that from the start, y'know."

"You comin' in or what?" I asked, halfway through the window.

Her eyes just locked on mine as she looked at me incredulously. I smiled a little, just enjoying the sight of her. Her eyes were wide with surprise and held a little bit of intrigue in them.

"I guess so..." She said, tearing her eyes away from mine.

There was something about her... something I couldn't put my hands on just yet, that drew me to her. I was attracted to her physically, of course but there was something else. Maybe that little bit of mystery is what drew me to her. She seemed so open and reserved at the same time. I liked that.

"Leon?" She asked, startling me. I leaned back a little and next thing I knew I was on my ass, inside the house.

"Leon?" She asked again, this time leaning in the window, a smile on her face. "You okay?"

"Yeah," I looked up at her from the ground. "Of course."

"Are you going to let me in? Or am I supposed to stand here and admire you on the ground?" She laughed.

"*Funny*" I muttered, holding back a smile, "Lemme go open the front door."

**


	8. Chapter 6

_Men are what their mothers made them._

**-- Unknown -- **

"You sure you're okay?" I asked Leon as soon as he opened the door.

"Yep." Leon said, moving aside so I could get in.

Out of the corner of my eye I noticed him rubbing his ass. It had really been a hard fall...

I didn't say anything though. I shook my head a little and laughed quietly to myself. _This_ was the guy who was gonna help me out until my car got fixed.

"Is there a bathroom around here or something?" I asked him suddenly.

"Uh, Yeah." Leon nodded. "Down the hall and third door on the right."

"Thanks." I said, walking past him.

It was a small, cozy house filled with a huge collection of candles. It was like wherever I turned there were candles of all sizes everywhere. His mom must've been a collector of a lot of shit...

I walked past family photos; I wanted to stop and look but didn't want to come off as nosey.

Okay, yeah, I **was** a nosey person but I wasn't about to prove that to someone I barely knew. To someone I barely knew and yet I was still hanging out with... at his mother's house no less.

By the time I got into the hall, I had forgotten which way Leon had told me to go so I decided to wing it.

I went down the hall and opened the second door to the right... like Leon had told me... I think.

But when I walked in, it didn't look *anything* like a bathroom. There was a full sized bed along with posters along the wall. I skimmed the room a little and noticed little picture frames sitting on the dresser.

Somehow I found myself in someone's room. Not just someone's room, Leon's old room.

The room was pretty clean and everything looked like it was placed perfectly... like those model rooms they use to advertise a house for sale.

The posters on the walls were of his musical taste, obviously, because they were lined with stuff from Jimi Hendrix to Aerosmith.

I couldn't help but look around some more. I wondered how long it had been since Leon had actually stayed in this room and if it had actually been that _clean_ when he was staying in there. He had a huge CD collection. Two long CD holders were set against the wall.

I kneeled down a little and started to skim through them. It wasn't hard... they were in alphabetical order...

"Boyz 2 Men..." I laughed under my breath and shook my head, imagining Leon actually listening to this stuff. My fingers skimmed over some more CD's and stopped when I noticed familiar album covers.

"Oh, that just _rocks._" I murmured, pulling a CD out.

"Can't tell the difference between a bathroom and a bedroom?" Leon's voice broke my concentration.

"Sorry," I said, turning around and smiling. "I took a wrong turn, and ended up flirting with your CD's."

"Right," He nodded, his arms crossed against his chest.

"I mean, who knew you were into Boyz 2 Men?" I smirked.

He stopped leaning against the door frame and I could see a defense starting to build up. "That's not mine..."

"Right, of course it isn't." I smiled, "I haven't made it past the C's but I can't wait to find that New Kids on the Block CD..."

I was totally teasing him and I hoped he knew it.

"Hey!" He said, walking into the room now. "The Boyz had harmony."

"I'm just kidding, Leon." I said, turning back to the CD's. "I have to say, The Cult... great choice there."

"They're not satanic or anything..." He sighed as if he had to defend the band before or something.

"Well, I know that." I said quietly, letting him know I wasn't attacking him. "Most of their music, if not all, is pure soul."

"You listen to The Cult?" Leon asked me, looking me over.

"Uh, yeah." I looked at him like he was crazy. Of course I listened to them... always had been a huge fan of theirs. I had actually attended three of their concerts in a span of 4 months a few years back.

"You're bullshitting me." Leon said after a moment, as he suddenly came to a conclusion.

I wasn't insulted. I mean, it wasn't like the band was mainstream or anything and I guess I didn't seem like the type of girl that would've been into that kind of 80's rock. Then again, Leon didn't strike me as a guy who would have a CD collection varying from The Cult to Vanilla Ice, either.

"I'm totally serious," I told him. "I love their stuff. Oh, and Billy Duffy? Total guitar God in my eyes."

"Okay, this is too weird." Leon laughed. "It's cool that you like them."

"I love them!" I said, looking over their Sonic Temple CD. "God, I had the hugest crush on Ian Astbury for the longest."

"Yeah?" Leon asked, a small smile on his face; a slight tease in his eyes. "So did I."

I looked at him for a moment before I busted out laughing.

"I'm kidding." He said, holding his hands up to defend himself. "I really am."

The next thing I knew, Leon was sitting down next to me on the floor and we were talking about our concert experiences and our taste in music. We even debated a little over who rocked more and who sucked less.

**

"You were _not _at the Duran Duran concert." I shook my head.

"I'm telling you... I was!" Leon insisted. "John Taylor gave me a picture and everything."

"...and this was in?"

"'82." He confirmed.

"Right, Because you were all of what? Seven?" I asked, holding back a laugh.

"You're damn right!" He leaned back on his elbows, "That's why I can say that I'm sure I've been to more concerts than you. I started going since I was like, five."

"Depeche Mode." I cut him off, throwing a challenging smile at him.

"You have never been to a Depeche Mode concert." Leon shook his head. "Uh uh, no way..."

"It's a fact, my friend." I shrugged.

He looked at me for a moment, "White Snake.'87"

"Van Halen. 1988. front row, center."

"Guns N Roses... '88."

"The Cult." I grinned proudly.

"I've already said that." Leon said.

"You didn't let me finish... 4 times in 89. Sonic Temple tour." I raised my eyebrows.

"Damn... 4 times?" Leon asked, amused. "Freak."

"Let's go back to those MC Hammer CD's, _nerd_." I started to get back up, only to be pulled down by Leon.

"No... no... no... okay," He paused for a second, "Journey --" He suddenly became quiet and mumbled something to himself.

"Journey?" I sat up straight and looked at him. "Journey?" I asked again. "As in the Journey that sang --"

"Yeah," He said, looking away. "That would be them."

I leaned in a little to see what he was mumbling and listened as he cursed at himself.

He was embarrassed for letting that one slip out.

I opened my mouth and then shut it, debating on whether to say anything or not.

"Wham!" I said, after a moment, avoiding all eye contact.

I heard him clearing his throat and then felt his eyes on me. "Wham!?" He asked.

"Hey --" I started to defend myself.

"Wham! does *not* count as a concert experience." Leon said.

"Why not?" I frowned.

"Well," He said, starting to list off the reasons on his fingers. "One, they weren't a band... they were... entertainment if that's what you can call it..."

"Oh come on..." I sighed.

"Two," He nodded. "They wore white shorts! They constantly slid across stage busting out some moves that even Michael Jackson would never pull. They were the Chip N Dale dancers for..."

"For what?" I asked, tilting my head to the side, wondering if he was going to finish.

"...for girls who...hadn't even been through puberty." He finished quietly.

"Oh my god!" I shrieked with laughter. "You are something else, you know that?"

"He sure is," A voice said from the doorway.

"Mom!" Leon jumped to his feet, running his hands through his hair.

"Hey." She smiled at him and then looked down at me.

I smiled at her, a little embarrassed.

"Oh," I said, remembering my manners and getting up. "Hi," I shook her hand. "I'm Amber..."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Lorraine." She nodded, her dark green eyes twinkled.

I could see the little features they both shared. They eyes, both color and shape and the mouth. Both of their faces were so defined and they both had strong profiles. You could see the tiny creases on the corners of her eyes... she was definitely one to smile a lot.

"How did you get in?" She turned to Leon. "I thought you left your key here last time."

"I did..." Leon said, looking down.

"Leon..." She shook her head. "You went through that window didn't you?"

"Well..." He shrugged.

"You know what I told you about that." Lorraine sighed, "You're way too big to be climbing through that thing. You already know... you break..."

"I buy. Yeah I know, ma." Leon smiled. "Don't worry."

I got that feeling that Leon had been the only child. They were just so close... you could tell. The way he and his mother interacted was just interesting. They both seemed to say more with gestures and facial expressions.

"C'mon... let's go in the kitchen, huh?"

********

"So Amber," Lorraine said, setting a soda in front of me. "He driving you crazy yet?"

"Thanks." I said, taking a sip. "Actually, he's been pretty easy to get along with... most of the time, anyway."

"Hey, now!" Leon protested. "Like sitting in that car with you for over an hour didn't drive **me** nuts? Can we say whiplash?"

I rolled my eyes and nodded towards the window, "Can we say crash and burn?"

"You let her drive your car, Leon?" Lorraine asked, looking confused.

"Yeah." Leon ducked his head like it was nothing.

"That's a first." Lorraine said, smiling.

"Yeah, and with the way she was driving, it'll probably be the last." He muttered.

"I was **not** that bad!" I protested.

"I still can't believe you let someone else drive your car," Lorraine shook her head. "You _never_ let anyone drive your car... not even Carlos..."

"Ma, it's not that big of a deal." Leon insisted.

Lorraine stayed quiet and just looked back and forth at us...

She smiled, "How long have you guys known each other?"

"A few weeks," I told her.

"Ah... wow, you met where? At the shop?" She asked.

"Yep." I nodded.

"Oh, ma…" Leon sat up straighter, trying to get his mom's attention.

"I see." Lorraine said, turning to smile at Leon.

"Ma, it's not like --" Leon tried again, only to be cut off.

"So how long have you two been dating?" She asked me.

My mind went blank as I stared at Lorraine. Somehow my mouth opened a little but then I shut it and threw a look a Leon.

"D-dating?" I mumbled.

He avoided my eyes and leaned forward, "Uh, ma, that's what I was trying to tell you..., we aren't dating... we're just..."

"Oh!" Lorraine said. "I'm so embarrassed... I'm sorry... I jumped ahead of myself there." She laughed.

"It's... its okay..." I laughed, easing up just a little.

"So, you guys are in that stage then? You know, talking about it? Like a pre-couple..."

Everything got quiet just then. Suddenly, Leon wasn't smiling; he looked flustered and I wasn't laughing anymore.

"What?" I asked.

"Wait, huh?" Leon said almost at the same time.

We looked at each other and then at Lorraine...

"No!" We managed to say together.

"Ma," Leon tried again. "I'm helping her out for a few weeks. We're friends."

Lorraine just shrugged, which surprised me, and stood up. "Hm."

"Ma," Leon stood up suddenly, and turned to me, "I need to talk to her for a second."

"Yeah," Lorraine smiled and walked out of the kitchen. "You sure do."


	9. Chapter 7

_**"A boy's best friend is his mother."**__  
-- Joseph Stefano_

"Go ahead and talk." My mom turned to me as soon as we got to the living room.

"I just wanted to make sure we were clear on the whole dating thing." I told her.

"Oh," Her brows furrowed. "Is that all? Yeah, of course."

I looked at her for a moment and then shook my head, "Don't even think it, ma."

"Think what?" She asked, her eyes going wide.

I knew my mother... knew the way she thought. It was like once she got this idea in her head it would _not_ budge.

"You know what I'm talkin' about." I told her. "Just... don't even **think **about it, 'cause it's not going to happen."

"Leon," she laughed, "you worry so much sometimes. I know you and how you are..."

"But?" I asked skeptically.

She paused for a moment, "... but I think you need someone in your life..."

"I knew it!" I said, shaking my head. "There's always a 'but'..."

"Oh, honey," She sighed. "You're always working and now that you have Letty… I mean, when's the last time you were on a date? You haven't brought a girl home for me to meet since High School. What's wrong with this one? She's really pretty."

"Ma, I thought we discussed this..." I sighed and looked at her.

"Oh, we did. We discussed that you **weren't** dating. I'm saying that you should be; completely different things in my book."

"You don't even know her well, mom." I told her, "**I **don't even know her that well."

"I know enough, Leon." She told me, "She's nice, seems decent and I like her."

"Here we go again..." I rolled my eyes.

"Leon, you guys get along well. She knows how to handle your bullshit just fine…"

"Would you -- could you please keep your voice down? She'll hear you." I said frustrated.

"So," my mom shrugged, "what if she does? You already said you don't think of her like that. It's no big deal then, I won't say another word; besides, and if it's a friend thing for both of you, then she doesn't like you like that, either."

And with that, she walked to the couch and started fluffing the pillows.

I walked to the couch and sat down, "She already has a boyfriend, anyway."

"Not much of a boyfriend if **you're** the one that has to help her out." She noted.

I looked at my mom and then looked straight ahead. Something was just _off _about this... my mom and me talking about shit like this...

"Well I don't know for a fact if he's her boyfriend; seemed like it to me." I amended quietly.

My mom stayed quiet as she looked at her nails. She had this look on her face. I knew that look.

"What?" I looked at her.

"Nothing." She said, nonchalantly as she examined her nails closer. "You already know what I think."

"Can we just drop it for now?" I asked.

She gave me one of her reassuring smiles, "Sure."


	10. Chapter 8

"Hey, kitty..." I said, kneeling down to pet the chubby cat.

The cat meowed a response.

"You're a huge one, aren't ya?" I ran my fingers through her fur.

I looked around the kitchen, wondering if Leon was ever going to come back. It was times like these I wished I was a fly on a wall or something. He seemed a little flustered when Lorraine made the mistake of assuming that we were a couple. I'd never seen anyone turn that shade of red before...

"Tabby," Lorraine sighed as she walked into the kitchen, "there you are kiddo."

The cat didn't even acknowledge the fact that someone else had joined us in the room. She just stretched from underneath the palm of my hand and purred.

"That cat is lazy, yo." Leon muttered under his breath.

"Leon!" Lorraine scolded, "Don't talk about my baby like that. She's not lazy and you know that."

"Just look at her, ma!" Leon exclaimed, pointing to the cat. "She's friggan fat."

"Geeze," Lorraine rolled her eyes. "She's not fat... she's just chunky."

Tabby and I exchanged a look and she went back to purring; I went back to watching the banter between Leon and his mother.

"You're just jealous." Lorraine murmured, bending down to swoop Tabby into her arms.

"Yeah, you're right. I am jealous of Tubby over there." Leon rolled his eyes.

"Her name's Tabby." Lorraine cooed. "C'mon baby, let's get you some milk..."

"Hey," Leon sat down next to me. "Sorry about taking forever out there... had to talk to my mom..."

I shrugged, "No biggie."

"Hey, honey?" Lorraine said, closing the refrigerator door. "You think you can run to the store for me? I need some more milk."

"Yeah, sure." Leon paused, "You want me to go _now_?"

"Well," Lorraine gestured to Tabby, "yeah. The milk is for Tabby."

"God," Leon muttered again, "give her a friggan rice cake or something." He turned to me, "I'll be right back. Store's just down the street."

"No problem." I smiled a little.

"I have to go check the laundry." Lorraine said, setting the cat down and rushing out of the kitchen.

I got up and walked around the kitchen... looking at all the pictures that hung up on the wall.

On the far side wall, near the fridge, there was midsized picture frame hanging up. I walked over and looked at it. The picture inside the frame was of a man... looked like he was in his late 30's... smiling. I wondered if that was Leon's dad or something. I looked a little closer, slightly touching the picture as if it would give me a better visual or something.

"That's John," Lorraine said behind me. "Leon's dad."

I turned around, my eyes narrowed. "Sorry." I murmured sheepishly, stepping away from the picture.

"Oh, it's okay." Lorraine set the laundry basket down on a chair. "We're not together anymore, haven't seen him in 15 years."

"Oh," I looked at the picture and then back at Lorraine. "I'm sorry."

"Oh, honey," Lorraine turned to me and smiled, "It's alright, really."

"So you raised him? All by yourself?" I asked quietly.

"Yeah," She nodded. "It was a lot of work, but I like to think I did a decent job; except for the dry sense of humor thing." She shook her head, "I really wish he _hadn't_ picked that up from me."

I looked at her, "Actually, I find that admirable. I mean the whole being witty thing anyway... and Leon is a cool guy. He's very honest and he has these moments where he's actually --" I shut myself up, worried that I was starting to sound like I was gushing or something.

"Go on..." Lorraine said, her face filled with interest.

"Sweet." I finished softly, "He's very sweet."

"Yeah, he can be." Lorraine sighed. "So what about you?"

"Me?" I asked, kinda surprised.

Lorraine nodded.

"Not much to know about me, really..." I shrugged, "I'm originally from Denver. My parents' separated when I was really young."

"So what made you decide to move here?" she asked.

I thought about laying it all out there but decided against it. "I just thought it would be nice to get away. You know, escape." I said.

"So, you're not close with your family, then?" she asked.

"Well," I forced a laugh, "we're no Brady bunch."

I was never comfortable talking about my family... or lack thereof. There wasn't much to tell... I mean, I could break down everything about them in less than a paragraph: I never really knew my father... I wouldn't even be able to give a decent description of the man and by the time I had turned 11, my mother decided that she didn't have time to raise a daughter anymore. She's been married twice since her divorce with my dad.

"So did your boyfriend move here with you?" Lorraine asked, trying to change the subject smoothly.

I would've choked if I had still been drinking that soda. "M-my boyfriend?"

"Uh huh." Lorraine nodded.

I shook my head, "I -- there's no boyfriend in the picture."

"What?" Lorraine looked a little taken back, "Leon told me--"

I rolled my eyes. "I have _no_ clue where he got that idea Lorraine, but trust me there isn't anyone in the picture right now."

Do you know how pathetic that is? Having to clear up that you're not, in fact, taken?

"Oh," Lorraine sat down at the table. "I'm sorry. I just keep putting my foot in my mouth..."

I laughed, "Don't worry about it, Lorraine. It's all confusing for me too. I've been so focused on working and trying to get my life straightened out, I don't think I even have time for someone right now."

"Well, don't dwell on it. You're young; you don't need to grow up fast. You look like you have a lot of things going on." She said, looking me over.

I just looked at her and then looked down. There was something about the way she looked at me, it was like she knew all the problems I had going on right now.

I turned to her. "Lorraine? How do you --"

"I'm back." Leon's voice echoed through the house.

"We'll talk some more later." Lorraine whispered to me before turning to greet Leon, "Thank you, hon."

"No problem." Leon said, handing Lorraine the bag.

"We should get going..." he said after a moment.

"Oh," I said getting up. "Yeah..."

"So what do you guys plan on doing tonight?" Lorraine asked, pouring milk into a saucer.

"Ma..." Leon warned.

"Amber," Lorraine turned to me, completely ignoring Leon, "It was good to meet you."

"You too, Lorraine." I replied as she enveloped me in a hug.

Lorraine turned to Leon and smiled. "Be good, alright?"

"That's it?" Leon jokingly scoffed. "She gets a nice sentiment and a hug and I get a 'be good'? That's balanced."

"Just shut up and give me a hug, alright?" Lorraine laughed, practically stretching her arms to embrace Leon.

"Love you." Leon murmured, pulling away. "Take care, ma."


	11. Chapter 9

_**Three things of life that are most valuable:**__**  
**__**Love, self-confidence & friends.**_

_-Unknown_

**

"That was almost... sweet." Amber grinned as she settled into the passenger seat.

"You realize that if you tell anyone, I'm gonna have to kill you, right?" I looked at her, my voice serious.

"Aw!" she grinned.

"I'm... I'm _so_ serious." I warned, starting to get flustered again.

"You're embarrassed!" Amber noted.

"I'm not!" I objected. "It's just… just, okay, please don't mention it to anyone, alright?"

Amber kept still for a moment and then turned to me, "Leon..." She tilted her head slightly, causing some of her hair to fall onto her shoulder. "It's cool. I won't say a word."

"Right." I said, resisting the urge to brush the hair off of her shoulder.

"Seriously!" She reassured me. "In fact, here... I'll pinky swear you, okay?"

"Pinky swear?" I raised my eyebrows.

"Look," She held her pinky out. "Do you want me to keep my mouth shut or what? 'Cause you know... if you're dissing my way of guaranteeing you that I won't say anything…"

I grabbed her pinky with mine and shook it.

"There." I said, starting up the car. "It's cool now, right? You don't know anything."

"So, when are you going to start working on my car?" She asked, lightly changing the subject.

"Well," I shrugged, "new parts should come in tomorrow... figured I could get a little of the body work done, maybe fix up some of that engine."

"Good..." Amber nodded to herself. "That sounds… that sounds awesome."

I pulled up to the front of her house and shut the car off. We sat there, neither of us talking; I looked straight ahead and she looked out her window.

"Well, thanks..." She broke the silence, opening the door.

"No problem." I smiled.

"Leon," She hesitated before settling back down into the seat. "Thank you."

"For what?" I asked, confused.

"For..." Amber gestured, "...well, everything. You taking out the time to help me out here."

"No need to thank me." I laughed a little, "I mean... it was partially my fault that your car got damaged..."

She gave me a look.

"Totally. I mean totally my fault that your car got damaged." I corrected myself.

"Oh yeah, definitely." Amber said without hesitating. "But that's beside the point. You could've been a jerk and like, not told me, or just told me to fuck off and leave me hanging but you didn't and I appreciate that. There aren't a lot of honest people out there nowadays..."

"Not a problem." I shrugged.

"Okay," She smiled and got out of the car.

"Hey." I said, not really sure what I was doing. "Did you want to come by the shop tomorrow? Watch the building of a brand new car?"

I didn't know what the hell I was doing or _why_ I even offered. I mean, why would she want to sit around the shop all day to see some 'boring' mechanical work?

"Sure." She said. "I'd love to."

"Okay," I said, starting up the car. "Cool. I'll pick you up then?"

"Sounds good." Amber replied.

"Noon sound alright?"

"Yeah," Amber said, "Definitely."

"'Kay."

She closed the door and leaned in the car window. "Hey Leon?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't stand me up, alright?" She joked.

"Didn't even cross my mind..." I reassured her.

"Just making sure..." She joked, "Alright, see ya tomorrow."

I watched as she walked through the gate that led to the apartment building. I sat there for a moment, oblivious to the fact that I had the car running. Shaking my head and clearing my thoughts, I shifted into 1st and headed to my house.


	12. Chapter 10

**

"Can you hand me the Phillips over there?" I asked, pointing to the counter.

"Sure. Are you sure that goes there?" Amber asked as she handed me the screwdriver.

"Well, that's the thirteenth time you've asked me that in oh, two hours... and what I've put in hasn't fallen out just yet... so I'm going to just wing it and say 'yes'." I replied.

"I'm just making sure..." Amber bent down next to me, looking under the hood of the car.

"Look. It's gonna come out fine. I haven't had a complaint yet; well except that time that this muffler fell off of this guy's car..."

"What?" Amber asked, looking up so quick she nearly bumped her head on the hood of the car.

"I'm just kidding." I laughed. "Seriously, I got it handled."

"Are you sure --?" She asked, her brows furrowing.

"You know, I think Letty should be home by now, Mia too; why don't you go hang with them?" I asked suddenly.

"Hmm, I didn't see anyone here when I came in..." Amber mumbled to herself.

"Mia!" I called suddenly, for once hoping to see Mia's head poke through the door.

"Yeah?" Mia peeked from behind the door, looking annoyed.

"See." I turned to Amber. "She's here. Mia, this is Amber. Amber, this is Mia. She's already met Letty, Mia, so why don't you guys go hang out in the back or something? Bond. Go talk about some girly shit or something..."

"Leon..." Mia started, rolling her eyes.

"Shut up." Amber finished for her, smacking me on my arm.

"Well," Mia grinned, coming out from behind the door. "We should get along fine.'Bonding' it is. Letty and I were gonna go hang out by Jerry's to see if there was anything going on there, wanna come?"

"Sure." Amber smiled.

"Lemme go tell Letty." Mia said, closing the door.

"Have fun." I said, tightening a bolt.

"Oh I will." Amber said, grabbing her purse. "Oh, and Leon? He's not my boyfriend."

Now it was me who damn near hit their head on the hood of the car.

"What?" I asked, not thinking clearly.

"Jason. You know, the guy you saw me at Denny's with that time? He's not my boyfriend... he's... well, a friend."

"Oh." I said, running my hands through my hair. I let out a small breath, feeling as if something had lifted off my chest. It was weird. I didn't understand why that would have any affect on me, but it did.

"Oh, well I guess I kinda just assumed… whatever…" I stuttered.

"Well," Amber chuckled. "I just wanted to clear up that little fact." Amber said, playing with the zipper on her purse.

I grabbed a wrench and started to un-tighten a bolt, trying to forget that she was still behind me; trying to forget the embarrassment that was starting to set in.

"You good to go, Amber?" Mia's voice re-entered the room.

"Uh huh." Amber replied. "I'll see ya, Leon."

"Later." I mumbled.

I listened as the slamming of the door echoed through the garage.

Amber hanging out with Letty and Mia. Thinking about it, at first, I thought it would've been a good idea...

Suddenly, I was getting nervous at the thought of those three hanging out together.


	13. Chapter 11

"So, Amber," Mia swerved through traffic with such ease, "Where are ya from?"

I leaned between the two front seats, "Denver."

"Oh," Mia shook her head slightly. "If you don't mind me saying, Denver never sounded like much fun to me. All that snow..."

"Well," I leaned back into the seat, "that's why I'm here now."

"Met any cute guys yet?" Mia asked.

"Oh God, Mia..." Letty sighed.

"What?" Mia asked innocently, looking over at Letty. "It's just a question."

"I can't even think to associate the word 'innocent' with you," Letty snorted. "Give the girl a break, wouldya?"

"So... uh, where are we going again?" I asked trying to steer the subject a little.

"Jerry's." Letty replied shortly as if that would answer my question.

"Ah." I nodded to myself, trying to act as though it made sense. "He a good friend of yours?"

"Jerry's Deli." Mia looked back at me and smiled.

"Oh." I replied, trying not to feel stupid. "Okay."

"Wait a minute." Mia looked at me again.

The feeling that she was going to crash had started to sink in again.

"Uh... road..." Was all I was able to get out. Mia wasn't having it though. She turned to eye the road for like, a second before turning back to me. "You've never been to Jerry's Deli before?"

I shook my head. "Uh, no. Denver remember? Apparently I've been secluded from civilization and surrounded by snow..."

"Well my friend, it's time to change all of that. Let me tell you Jerry's is the place to be on a Friday... that's for damn sure." Mia ranted.

"What she means is, if you haven't been corrupted by the fast life and drugs yet, Jerry's is a cool place to be. It's like a safe haven almost." Letty clarified.

"**And** they have some kick ass cheese sticks." Mia added.

"Oh..." I said, looking out the window. "Great."

I wasn't sure if I was really ready to be out there yet. I'd never really been around other people except Jason and Jordan and their friends. Maybe it was time for me to see what else there was. I wondered if it was going to be okay. See, Jason and Jordan kinda took me in, and with Mia and Letty, I felt like I was kinda... forced into their lives... like they **had** to hang around me. I kind of wanted to start from new, though. I didn't want to feel like I had to change in order to be accepted; then again, I didn't feel like that around these girls.

**

"What about him?"

I looked at Mia and then at her target. "Yeah, he's alright... if you like guys with unibrows"

After a slight pause, the three of us fell into fits of laughter.

"You're so right. God, I must be deprived or something to even consider him..." Mia grinned.

"Well..." I looked at the waiter again. "He isn't that bad, but you know, chances are he would need your cosmetics more than you."

I looked around the crowded restaurant and settled into the calm atmosphere.

"So why LA?" Mia asked.

"I dunno..." I played with my straw a little before answering. "Why not?"

"So, you and Leon?" Mia raised her eyebrows.

It amazed me how quick this girl could jump from one thing to another so easily.

"What?" I asked, finally understanding why she stopped herself. "Oh, no. It's not like that. He's just helping me out for awhile."

"Right." Mia said slowly, throwing a look at Letty.

"What?" I laughed. "Oh, God... seriously, not like that. It's totally just a friendship thing, I think..."

"You think?" Letty laughed.

"Well, I don't even know if we're friends!" I clarified.

"Uh huh..." Mia nodded.

"Wait... when did the topic turn to me and Leon?" I asked. "There isn't even a 'me and Leon'."

"Okay," Mia said, throwing one last glance at Letty. "I'll lay off it... I'm just sayin'..."

"Well don't." I rolled my eyes and smiled.

Suddenly, the waiter with the unibrow walked up to us and set down three drinks in front of us.

"Compliments of the gentleman at the bar..." He said quietly before leaving the table.

"What the..." Mia said quietly.

"Uh..." Letty managed to say.

"Okay..." I muttered.

"Watch," Mia muttered. "Knowing our luck, they'll be like 40 year old truckers or something."

"Named Bobby Joe, Billy Bob and Dwight." Letty chimed in.

"Bald, possible comb-over and beer bellies." I added.

"Wait!" Mia leaned in and grabbed my arm. "I think I see them... Ooh..."

"What?" I leaned in. "Cute? Slight possibilities but just a little work? No bottle cap glasses? What?"

"Try All American looking college guys... blonde, could be jocks but the pretty boy kind... and _cute_." Mia mumbled.

"Oh really?" I became interested even though jocks and pretty boys never did do it for me.

Mia looked past me and smiled, "And," she said through clenched teeth. "They're looking over here right now..."

She waved.

"Mia!" Letty whispered. "You did **not** just wave."

"Don't worry..." Mia kept her gaze over towards the bar. "It's a harmless wave. Not like they're going to come over here or anything."

"Good." Letty sighed with relief. "I thought that I would have to kick your ass or something..."

"Uh oh." Mia turned back towards us.

"What?" I asked.

"Letty, you promise you won't like, wear those shoes. You know the steel toed ones?" Mia pleaded.

"You're such a bitch!" Letty glared.

"Hey." A tall blonde guy approached our table.

"Hi." Mia said.

"Look, my buddies and I were over there and we noticed you ladies here at this table. We were wondering if you'd like to join us for a drink."

"No." Letty and I said simultaneously.

"Sure!" Mia said, grinning.

"Ow!" I winced as I felt a sharp pain hit my shin. Letty winced too.

"C'mon guys. It won't be that bad." Mia got up, following the guy towards the bar.

"Hey," I mocked. "Free drinks!"

"Yeah!" Letty said, catching onto my fake enthusiasm, "I have a feeling I'm going to have to kick someone's ass."

"This is going to be interesting..." I snorted as we made our way towards the bar.


	14. Chapter 12

"So when are the girls supposed to get back?" Dom walked out of the kitchen and handed me a Corona.

I shrugged and took a sip of the beer. "'Dunno. Is there ever really a set time for when girls are supposed to return from a 'glorious' night out, though?" I questioned.

Dom nodded thoughtfully. "You're right, man."

"You know Mia," I added. "She prolly has them all hitting on some guys they met at Jerry's...."

"Or they're following them, trying to get their attention..." Dom chuckled.

"They end up talking to the guys, not knowing that they're like, serial killers or something..." I tried to add wistfully, not really catching onto what I was saying.

I looked at Dom and he looked at me and soon we were both jumping up. Talking simultaneously.

"I'll check the back roads..."

"I'll search Jerry's..."

"You get your cell --"

"Call me if you find anything --"

We were interrupted by headlights flashing into the window.

"They're home!" I sighed with relief.

"Good!" Dom chuckled. "For a second there, I was getting worried..."

"Yeah," I laughed. "Me too."

I looked at Dom, who was clutching his jacket and shook my head. "You realize we look like over protective dad's right?"

"Well..." Dom shrugged.

"Dude, they're gonna think we were all worried or some shit."

"We _were_ worried!" Dom retorted.

"Well, yeah, so? We can't let **them** know that." I shook my head. "We'd never hear the end of it. Okay, quick. Put the shit down and turn on the TV or something."

We threw the stuff over the couch and a scrambled to find the remote.

I heard laughing as soon as the front door opened.

"Sssh!" I heard one of the girls whisper. "You're gonna wake Leon up!"

I figured it was okay to make my presence known so I walked out into the front room.

"Hey..." I said casually. "You're back."

"Leon!" Letty spun around so fast her ponytail wacked her in the face. "You're up."

"Yeah," I ran my hands through my hair. "I'm just hanging out with Dom."

"Dom's... here?" Letty asked, her voice not rising above a whisper.

"Uh huh. Where are Mia and Amber?" I asked.

She just pointed to the open door. As if on cue, both girls kind of stumbled into the house.

"Is it safe to come in yet?" Mia giggled, holding onto the door frame.

"Leon!" Amber squeaked before falling into fits of laughter.

"Okay..." I said slowly, "what happened?"

"Well..." Letty shrugged. "I wouldn't say something **happened**..."

"We just went out." Amber shrugged and then leaned against Mia, "Right, Mia?"

"Uh huh." Mia nodded, clutching onto the doorframe. "A girl's night out."

I surveyed the situation for a moment, trying to figure out **what** the hell was going on.

"Dom!" I called, not bothering to take my eyes off of the girls.

"What's up?" Dom asked, entering the room.

"See for yourself, dawg." I pointed to them.

"Dominic!" Mia grinned again.

"Hey, you. Yeah... Dom." Amber tripped over her words.

"Uh huh." Dom said slowly before turning to Letty. "Drunk?"

"They had a few drinks." Letty admitted. "I drove home."

"We're not drunk..." Mia sighed. "We're good."

"Yeah," Amber nodded. "We're cool."

"I'm sure you are..." I mumbled.

"Alright…" Dom sighed. "I'll take one... you take the other."

He grabbed Mia's arm and started to pull her away from the door but Amber seemed latched onto Mia.

"C'mon." I mumbled, grabbing Amber's arm and pulling her towards me.

Both girls ended up falling onto the floor and looked up at me and Dom.

"Whoa." Mia blinked.

"What's up?" Amber laughed, cracking another grin at me.

I had to admit, it was sorta becoming amusing to me.

"Let's get you up..." I laughed a little, taking her hand.

"Actually," Amber said thoughtfully, "it's comfortable down here. So **you** come sit with me."

I looked at Dom for a little help and he shrugged and grabbed Mia's hand. "C'mon, girl, Up."

He lifted Mia up and wrapped her arm around his neck. "Letty, is it okay if she goes in your room for the night?"

"Yeah, okay." Letty said. "Here, let me help you."

I watched as they struggled to walk with Mia to the room and I turned back to Amber.

She rolled her eyes, "Oh come on!" She grabbed my hand and yanked it her way, falling back and taking me down in the process.

"Easy, girl." I laughed. "You're gonna hurt yourself."

"Yeah…yeah..." Amber said, stretching out on the floor.

"So I take it you had fun?" I asked, looking at her.

"Uh huh!" She nodded. "Hell yeah. It was hilarious. I gotta tell ya about it."

"Well...?" I asked after waiting to hear what she had to say.

"What?" Amber asked, looking confused.

"You were gonna tell me something?" I reminded her.

"I was? Oh. Right...yeah, I forgot." She mumbled.

"Right." I choked back a laugh.

"Hey!" Amber turned towards me. "You're laughing at me. That's like, wrong."

"I'm not laughing." I cleared my throat.

"Yeah you are." She smirked.

"No I'm not." I gave her a serious look. "See?"

"Yeah, okay." She snorted.

I figured that if I was going to be stuck on the floor with her, I'd might as well make myself comfortable so I stretched out and put my hands underneath my head.

"So you had fun then?" I asked again.

"Yeah." She smiled. "I don't think I've really had that much fun since..."

"Since?" I asked, hoping she'd continue this time.

"It's been awhile." She finished quietly.

"Well, I guess that's a good thing." I nodded to myself.

"Hey!" Amber sat up suddenly, which turned out to be a bad idea because she swayed a little.

"What?" I asked, startled.

Her brows furrowed, "I don't remember."

"So what did you guys do tonight anyway?" I asked, hoping I could actually get it out of her tonight.

"Went to that one place, um, Jerry's Deli. Some guys bought us drinks; they were _so_ lame though."

I felt a little jealous, thinking about her with some other guys. Smiling at them, flirting…

"God!" Amber groaned, lying back down. "I'm so tired."

Letty and Dom walked back into the living room just then, Letty looking somewhat amused and Dom looking more irritated then anything.

"How's Mia?" I asked.

"Knocked the fuck out." Letty sighed. "She threw up on Dom."

"Fantastic." I looked at Dom and noticed that he was wearing one of my jerseys.

"Hope you don't mind..." Dom gestured to the shirt.

"Not at all." I smiled, trying not to laugh at how small it looked on him "This should remind you to keep extra clothes laying around, huh?"

"What can I say? Mia's a spontaneous person." Dom shrugged. "How's the other one holding up?" He nodded towards Amber.

"Has yet to vomit on me." I noted, looking at her head resting on my shoulder. "And sound asleep, apparently."

I shifted a little so that I could get my arms around her waist, pulling her more towards me.

I got on my feet, scooping her up into my arms while I was at it.

"D'ya need any help, man?" Dom asked.

"Nah, dawg." I said. "I got her. Thanks."


	15. Chapter 13

I opened my eyes and quickly shut them to block out the light that shone through the window.

I sank deeper under the blankets, hoping it'd ease the pounding in my head. The bed moved under my weight and I realized almost immediately that this wasn't my bed. I wasn't in *my* room...

I sat up quickly, ignoring the pain that shot through my head and looked around. It didn't seem familiar at all...

I looked to my right and saw Leon curled up on the futon in the corner of the room.

"What the ...?" I groaned as I fell back onto the bed. I didn't remember coming back to Leon's. Actually, I didn't remember much...

"Leon." I sat back up and sighed, rubbing my eyes.

No response.

"Leon!" I said a little louder, causing Leon to jump up.

"What? Huh?" He looked around the room and then at me. "Oh."

"What happened?" I asked. "Was I like, drunk or something?"

"Heh." Leon smirked. "Smashed was more like it. You crashed here."

"Oh." I frowned. "I don't remember much..."

"Well..." He shrugged and sat up. "Letty drove. You and Mia were pretty out of it."

"Damn." I shook my head to clear away the pain.

"You had fun though..." Leon noted. "Or so you said."

"Well..." I sighed. "That must be a good thing." I wrinkled my nose. "You don't happen to have an extra tooth brush around here do you? And some clothes I can put on so I can take a shower. I feel like _shit_."

"Yeah." Leon said, standing up. "C'mon. And after all that, we should probably get some breakfast."


	16. Chapter 14

"Look whose up!" Dom chuckled, leaning back in his chair.

"'bout time." Letty added, a smile playing at her lips.

Mia just groaned.

"She okay, man?" I asked, gesturing for Amber to sit down.

"She's fine." Dom said. "Just suffering from that little thing called a 'hangover'."

"That's gotta suck man..." Letty chuckled.

"Hey." I said, looking at Letty. "You aren't in the clear yet..."

"What?" Letty asked.

"Driving home remember?" I reminded her.

"Oh." She frowned. "It's not that big of a deal. I mean, I made it home didn't I?"

"You should have called a cab." Dom said, chewing on a piece of bacon.

"Oh God, not you too." Letty looked at Dom. "Wait, why are you guys picking on me? I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Letty... you don't even have your license." Dom pointed out. "Do you know how dangerous that is? What could've happened? You know cops are all over the place; _especially_ on weekends."

"And do you know how many insane drivers are out there nowadays??" I added, finishing Dom's thought.

"Yeah, okay..." Letty said, rolling her eyes. "Hello! **You** guys are those insane drivers."

I sighed and sat back a little, knowing that grilling her wouldn't work. The thing about Letty is that she'll never admit that she's wrong. Ever. She'll budge just a little, maybe even admit that there could've been a different way of going about something but in her mind, she did the right thing. Sometimes she seemed so worry free, so careless. I didn't want to lose her because of that.

"All I'm sayin' is that you need to be careful. I don't want to get a phone call from your social worker asking why you're in jail."

"Look, if something had happened. If I'd gotten pulled over by a cop or something, I could've gotten out of it..." Letty sounded so sure of herself.

"Oh, really?" Dom asked, his eyes fixed on her. "You would've what? Flirted your way out of it?"

"No way," I laughed. "Knowing Letty? She would've attempted to kick a cop's ass before flirting"

"I appreciate the confidence, guys..." Letty said sarcastically.

"Hey," Mia groaned, not even lifting her head up from the table. "Can you guys _please_ not yell?"

"Oh, you think this is yelling?" Dom asked, moving his eyes from Letty to Mia. "You haven't even heard yelling. You're lucky I'm not making you sit up right now so you can fully enjoy that hangover."

"Still mad about her throwing up on your shirt, huh?" I asked Dom.

"Hell yeah." Dom said. "It was one of my favorites."

"And you..." Dom turned to Amber. "How're you feelin'?"

I'd almost forgotten that she was there. She'd been so quiet.

"Like I got hit in the head with a sledgehammer," Amber said quietly.

Dom nodded to himself and looked at me.

"Oh, God." Amber sighed. "Please don't lecture me...'cause I'm _so_ not in the mood."

"Alright," I said, smiling. "I was just gonna say..."

"Leon," Amber closed her eyes and rested her head in her hands. "Please?" Her voice grew muffled.

I looked at Dom who smiled. "I think these girls learned their lesson."

"You think?" I questioned. "You don't think we should jab at them even more?"

"Hell no," Mia groaned.

"Okay, okay..." Dom laughed. "Fine. Here, let's get them back to bed or something. I'll take Amber over here and you take Mia."

I looked at my clothes and then at Mia. "You aren't feeling sick or anything are you, Mia?"

Mia shook her head.

"Alright." I sighed, getting up and taking Mia by the arms.

"You don't need any help?" Letty asked.

"Nah, we're cool." I told her. "Go ahead and go watch your cartoons or something..."

Another thing about Letty was that she could give you this look. A 'Don't fuck with me.' kind of look. To most people, it was intimidating... but to me, it was just funny. The girl could burn a hole in the back of your shirt with that glare. I'd never received that kind of look from her.

Until now, of course.


	17. Chapter 15

"You cool?" Dom asked me as he draped the blankets over me.

"Uh huh." Was all I managed to say.

"'Kay." He sat at the edge of the bed. "You ever have this bad of a hangover before?"

"No..." I sighed, throwing my arm over my eyes. "Never."

"What exactly did you guys drink?" He asked.

"I don't really remember. The last thing I remember is taking two shots of tequila and that basically finished me off."

"Ah." I heard Dom say. It seemed like he was far away, his voice echoed in my head.

"Hey."

"Yeah?" Dom asked.

"Take it easy on her, alright?" I told him.

"Who? Mia? Ah, she's used to it." Dom said.

"No, not Mia..." I sighed. "Letty."

"Oh." He said. Though I couldn't see his expression, I could sense him frowning.

"She only did what she thought was right. Not to mention, she was the only responsible one out of the three of us; I wouldn't have had it any other way. She definitely doesn't act 16."

I wasn't sure why I felt I had to explain anything to Dom about Letty's actions. It just felt like I had to. From his reaction in the kitchen, I could tell that he really worried about something happening to Letty or Mia.

Even if his concern didn't stretch far enough to include me, it still felt nice to think that it did.

"Yeah," He said, quietly. "I know."

If you actually paid attention to Dom, you'd probably be able to tell that he wasn't just your average meathead fuck up. He was a thinker. He didn't just blindly throw himself into situations. Dom's attitude commanded power. You were drawn to him because he had this air of confidence about him; he had this way to get your attention.

When I had first met Letty, I thought that she was young. You could tell from looking at her that she'd been through some tough shit in her life; and I think that's why I was able to connect with her so easily. We'd both experienced fucked up shit early in life. She didn't have that 'pity me' attitude though. It was like she wanted to take the hand that was dealt to her and make something out of it. She was only 16, but she had the attitude of someone older. She was growing up fast, and no one wanted to see it.

I opened my eyes and look at Dom. He just stared straight ahead, lost in his own thoughts. I smiled to myself as I realized that I wasn't the only one who'd seen Letty that way.


	18. Chapter 16

"God," Mia moaned as she lay back against the pillows. "My head is killing me."

"D'ya need anything to drink?" I asked, sitting down next to her. "You know, O.J.? Milk? Tequila?"

"Oh, shut up!" She smacked my leg weakly.

"Sorry," I nudged her. "I thought you were the resident alcoholic around here or something..."

"Right now all I want to do is _sleep_." Mia grumbled as she turned away from me.

"Was it worth it?" I asked her.

"I guess so." Mia mumbled. "Not like I actually get away too often or anything; besides, it was nice to hang out with other girls..."

"So..." I said, hoping I wasn't sounding too obvious or anything. "You got along with Amber alright?"

"Uh huh." Mia sank deeper under the covers. "She seems cool enough; sweet girl. I kinda hope she sticks around."

"What?" I asked as Mia turned over and threw me a look.

"Nothing." She said feigning innocence.

"Oh, man." I rolled my eyes. "_What_?"

"Well, she _is_ going to be sticking around, right?" Mia asked.

"I guess so. Wait, why are you asking me? I don't see why she wouldn't if you guys get along so well; whether she's around or not has nothing to do with me." I said, confused.

"Sure. If you say so. To be honest, all the people I meet at school, all those girls? I feel like they're only befriending me to get to Dom, and at least with Amber I know it isn't the case." Mia rubbed her eyes.

"Oh really?" I asked, suddenly seeming interested. "How do you know?"

"Leon, girls know these things, and it's so obvious that she has other things going on, you know?"

I wanted to say that actually I didn't know, but I really didn't feel comfortable prying.

"Right." I nodded, pretending to understand.

"Okay, that just went right over your head didn't it?" Mia laughed a little.

"Well, hey," I objected, kind of glad she left an opening for me to ask. "If you wanna tell me..."

"Maybe later." She sighed, turning away from me again. "I feel like _shit_."

"Alright." I stood up. "I'm going to go get a beer. You sure you don't want one?"

"Oh, I'm going to kill you when I feel better." Mia moaned, throwing the pillow over her face.

I snorted. "Yeah," I looked her over once before I laughed a little to myself. "Right."


	19. Chapter 17

"Hey," I yawned, walking into the living room.

"Oh," Leon looked up from the TV. "You're up."

"Uh huh." I mumbled, motioning for him to scoot over so I could sit.

"What time is it?" I asked, tucking my feet under me.

"2:30." Leon said.

"Wow... long nap." I shook my head a little.

"How're you feelin'?" Leon asked.

"Better. Not feelin' good yet but I'm doing better." I replied. "Basketball's on this early?" I looked towards the TV.

"Yeah." Leon's face lit up. "Sixers are kicking ass!"

I laughed a little at his enthusiasm. "Okay, so where's Mia at?"

"She's still upstairs, I think." Leon said, not bothering to tear his eyes from the TV. "Dom and Letty went to the store; Dom's barbequing tonight."

"Ah," I nodded absently.

"You gonna stick around?" He asked after a moment.

"Huh? Stick around for the barbeque?" I asked, snapping out of the daze.

"Yeah." He leaned over and nudged me. "You gotta stay."

"Alright," I smiled a little. "Only if you can run me home so I can change..."

Leon nodded. "Not a problem."

"Utah's so gonna kick the Sixer's asses, by the way..." I nodded towards the TV.

"What? No way!" Leon said. "Sixer's are on it today!"

"Right." I threw a side glance at him. "How much do you have on this game?"

"Fifty big ones." Leon admitted. "It'll be the second time Edwin kicks my ass if Sixer's lose..."

"God," I nudged him playfully. "What is it with guys and basketball?"

"Do you really have to ask?" He threw a side glance at me.

I shrugged. "Guess you're right."

I sat there and tried to watch the game with Leon but I couldn't get interested. I knew he was into the game, but he seemed way too serious about it.

"Leon?"

"Hm?" He asked, not bothering to tear his eyes from the TV.

I scooted closer to him and smiled. It was too funny. He was hunched over, his elbows on his knees, hands clasped together and scowling because someone caused a foul.

I reached over and brushed a strand of hair from his forehead. "Have you ever thought about spiking your hair?"

"Uh uh." He shifted a little, still focusing on the game.

"Hm." I said, playing with the back of his hair. Ruffling it a little. "You should. That'd look totally cute."

I could tell the little distraction was starting to work. He shifted a few times and even shrugged. Finally he looked at me.

"You're playing with my hair." He said after a moment.

"Uh huh." I said absently, not bothering to stop.

"Why?" He asked slowly.

I shrugged. "'Dunno. I like it, I guess."

"It's _hair_." He pointed out.

"Well, you have really nice hair. Lotta body." I said.

"Okay, I have no clue what you're talking about, but thanks?" He said, completely confused.

"Alright..." I stood up on the couch and pushed Leon forward. "Let's see what we can do here." I scooted behind him so that I was able to sit on the back of the couch.

I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back a little, making it so he sat in-between my legs...

"You don't mind do you?" I leaned over, looking at him.

He cleared his throat, "No."

"Okay," I smiled and ruffled his hair a little more. "Good."

"Ever thought of corn rowing your hair?" I asked after a moment.

What?" Leon asked.

"Corn rowing... never mind." I sighed.

"Well actually..." He started.

"Oh," I laughed. "Leon, tell me you _didn't_."

"It was back in High School." He admitted. "A friend of mine did it. It really didn't last long, though. Didn't look right..."

"Well," I said, amused. "I'm guessing it didn't. I'll bet you had like, baby hairs sticking up and all that."

"Yeah." Leon said. "That sucked."

"Aw." I said. "That's so cute."

"Oh man..." I could tell he was rolling his eyes. "Not that again."

"What?" I asked.

"**That**." Leon pointed out. "The same thing you did when we were coming back from my mom's. You being all gushing and girly and shit."

I grinned at that and wrapped my arms around his neck and rested my chin on his shoulder. "I can't help it. You're just so damn sweet. It's irresistible." I teased. "Almost like that Boyz to Men CD..."

"Oh, that's so wrong!" Leon moved forward, which made me slide off the back of the couch and onto the cushion.

"You didn't have to do all that now!" I laughed.

"Sorry," He laughed. "I tend to move around a lot."

He looked at me for a moment and smiled. "How long did this take?" He asked, fingering one of my braids.

"It depends; on a good day, it takes about 7 hours." I said.

"Do you always have your hair in braids?"

"Most of the time." I said. "It's easier to deal with when your hair isn't manageable, and mine totally isn't."

"It's cool." He said, still touching my hair. "I like it."

"Thanks." I said, narrowing my eyes. I was supposed to be the one making him squirm but now he was doing it to me. Why was I starting to feel so comfortable against his touch?

"So you ready to get goin'?" Leon asked.

"What?" I asked, looking at him.

"To your house so you can go change and stuff." Leon said slowly.

"Oh," I shook my head slowly, snapping out of the daze. "Yeah."

"Alright," He touched my knee and stood up. "Let's go."


	20. Chapter 18

**

We pulled up to her apartment and I sat in the car while Amber started to get out.

She stopped and hesitated, turning back to me, "You comin' or what?" she asked.

"Uh, alright..." I said, getting out of the car.

We walked towards her door and she stopped when it opened.

"Dammit," she sighed.

The guy that I'd seen her with at Denny's was standing right in front of us. He looked really rough. He pulled out a Marlboro from the pack and leaned against the door frame.

"Jesus Christ, you look like shit," he said, letting the cigarette dangle from his lips.

"Nice to see you too, Jase," Amber muttered dryly. "What the hell are you doing here anyway?"

"Parents freaked out on me again. You know how that is..." He dug in his pant's pocket for a lighter.

"So naturally you end up at my place..." Amber replied, rolling her eyes.

"So what the fuck happened to you?" he asked again, not bothering to look at me. "You getting into something else?"

Amber looked at him incredulously, "No, God, please just shut up. I went out drinking last night and ended up crashing."

"Uh huh." He snorted. "That explains it. Someone probably slipped you a roofie or somethin'. I told you, if you're ready for something stron--"

She started to tug on the ends of her hair nervously and turned to me, "You wanna come in?" Amber asked me, cutting Jason off.

"Sure." I said, wearily.

She looked at Jason before pushing past him and going into the apartment.

"So uh, go ahead and have a seat," she said, gesturing to the couch. "I won't be long, okay? Promise."

"Alright." I said slowly, trying not to look around.

She disappeared into the back room and I sat at the end of the couch.

I looked around the apartment and took notice at how clean it was. Everything seemed really organized. I wondered if she was one of those control freaks who had to have everything a certain way and freaked out if everything wasn't perfect. I thought about how she was and how she didn't seem that way, she was probably just really proud of her things and liked a clean house.

The front door opened and that guy, Jason, came strolling in like he owned the place. He took one glance at me and said, "Oh. You're still here."

I looked at him and didn't bother saying anything back. He wasn't worth me even addressing him. He was this spoiled kid, you could tell. Always had things handed to him and I didn't take kindly to people like that.

He walked down the hall, to the back of the apartment somewhere. I sighed with a little relief. I really didn't want to deal with that jackass right now.

I started to flip through some of the magazines that were sitting on her coffee table and she finally came out.

"Sorry if I took too long." She sighed. "Had to brush my teeth and change..."

I looked up at her and swallowed. She was wearing jeans that hung a little loose around her waist, a shirt that clung to her torso. She looked _really_ nice...

"Don't worry about it." I said, my voice growing low.

She smiled and gestured to the door, "So, you ready to go?"

"Yeah." I tossed the magazine back onto the coffee table and stood up.

"Jason, you better be out in an hour!" Amber called out as she opened the door.

"Yeah, whatever..." was the response she got back.

"Jerk." she muttered.

I didn't understand why she even let someone like that around her. She seemed like such a positive person and she didn't seem like the type to let someone push her around like that.

"Why do you put up with him?" I asked her as soon as we were seated in the car.

"Who?" Amber asked.

"Him." I nodded towards the house. "Jason."

"He's -- he's not as bad as he seems..." Amber said, shrugged. "It's hard to explain..."

"Well, from what **I've** seen, he looks like an ass." I told her. "He fucking treats you like you owe him something. Maybe you do, I don't know but you don't need someone like that in your life."

"It's a long story." Amber sighed. "It's almost like – see, we have this history..."

"A history?" I asked, confused.

"Not really… intimate or anything like that." Amber explained. "It's just… he's there. Sure, he isn't the sweetest guy in the world, I know that, but he's sort of in his own world, doing his own thing. For awhile he and Jordan were the closest things I had to friends."

"No offense, but you don't seem like the type to hang out with people like them." I told her. "Just by judging from what I saw that one day…"

"Do they really seem like the type to hang with someone like me?" Amber smirked. "Nah, didn't think so. They're good people. They have good hearts and when I met them, they helped me out, you know? They're not stable but then again, who is?"

"I just think you need to keep your eyes open." I told her softly. "I know I don't know them but judging from what I saw, they seem bad for you. They aren't your closest things to friends, not anymore anyway, you have Letty, and you have Mia, Dom, me..."

"I know." Amber said softly, looking away from me. "It's just... Leon, do you even _know_ me? I mean, yeah, we get along great and we can bullshit around, but you really don't know anything about me. You don't know…" She looked at me again and sighed, "you don't know what I've been through; what I'm **going** through."

"So tell me." I said. "Tell me who you are. Tell me about yourself. If you came from a fucked up past, you can tell me. I'm surrounded by people who have fucked up pasts and I'm no stranger to it either."

She swallowed and looked away, "I can't."

"Why not?" I asked getting impatient. "Why can't you tell me?"

She took in a deep breath and shook her head.

"Am?" I put my hand on her shoulder and squeezed it. "Amber?"

"Because..." She looked at me. "If I tell you who I am, you may not like it and that's all I have."

"I like what I've seen so far, okay?" I said, rubbing her shoulder some more. "And that's all that matters. I know what I've seen is you."

She still couldn't meet my eyes.

"Amber," I said softly. "Look at me, girl."

After a few seconds of hesitation, she looked at me.

"I just want you to know that you still have us, okay? I won't ask anymore questions. If you ever need to a friend to talk to… you can talk to me. I won't judge you." I smiled a little.

"Thanks, Leon." She smiled weakly. "Thank you so much."

And at that moment, I realized that she hadn't hid behind her humor. I'd finally gotten to see Amber in a completely vulnerable state.

"Anytime, girl." I said, starting up the car. "Anytime."


	21. Chapter 19

"_**A friend is someone who understands your past, believes in your future, and accepts you just the way you are.**__**"**_

**Unknown**

******

By the time Leon and I had gotten back to the house, Mia was bringing out the food and Dom and Letty were starting the grill.

"We were wondering where you went!" Dom called, pouring charcoal in the barbeque grill.

"Had to run and get some stuff." Leon replied, walking up to him.

I hung back a little, still trying to clear my head. I just felt like I was being pulled into all kinds of directions; Jason and Jordan at one end and Leon at the other.

"Hey, Amber!" Letty called, walking towards me. "You chillin' for the night or what?"

"Guess you can say that," I shrugged my shoulders.

"Can I getcha anything? Beer? Soda?" Letty asked.

"A beer sounds nice." I said, surprising myself.

"Okay," Letty said, looking me up and down like she wasn't sure of what I just said. "I'll be right back."

I shook away the thoughts of Jason and Jordan and walked over to Mia.

"You feelin' any better?" I asked Mia.

"Yeah," Mia smiled. "Whoever invented Advil are Gods."

I smiled a little and turned towards Dom who was laughing at something Leon said.

"I'm throwin' it all on the grill." Dom grinned at me. "Take your pick, whatcha want?" He gestured with the tongs at each plate.

"Hmm." I said, as if I was really considering. "That steak is looking pretty good."

"You got it." Dom said, grabbing one of the steaks with the tong and setting it on the grill. He turned back to me, "How do you like it?"

"Well done, please," I told him quickly. "I can't handle, you know, bloody things."

"Here you go," Letty said, handing me a Corona.

"Thanks." I smiled and walked over to the table and sat down.

"So," Mia raised her eyebrows. "Where'd you two go?"

I smirked and shook my head. "For your information, _Miss. I'm interested in every detail_; we went to my house --"

"Ah!" Mia grinned.

"…so I could change." I finished.

"Yeah." Mia nodded, "I'm sure."

"It's the truth." I said as I reached over and grabbed a lime. "Sorry to disappoint."

"It'll happen." Mia said quietly, smiling.

I grabbed the knife and started cutting the lime. "It's not like that." I shook my head, "Is it that unimaginable for a guy and a girl to just be friends?"

"Oh, it's completely plausible." Mia said, looking at her nails, "Just not with you two."

"Well, keep on dreaming." I laughed before taking a drink of my beer.

**

The music played and the hours seemed to pass quickly as we ate the food and talked. Leon somehow managed to challenge Letty into playing against him one on one in basketball and Mia played referee, even though she didn't know what she was doing.

Dom and I were left sitting at the table quietly watching them play.

I glanced over at him, catching him watching Letty as she smacked Leon on the arm repeatedly for cheating.

I leaned back, my elbows rested on the table and glanced at Dom one more time. This time he returned my look.

"You know how it is, huh?" he asked quietly.

I held back my smile and nodded slightly.

"She's 15." he said, shaking his head as if he were having some sort of inner debate.

"She sure doesn't act like it." I noted, hoping he'd see what I was trying to get at. "Why is that?"

"Tough childhood," Dom sighed. "She's been through a lot of shit, you know?"

"Yeah, actually I do." I said, not wanting to emphasize on how well I understood. "She handles herself _really_ well. I mean, I can somewhat relate to her and her past but let me tell you, as hard as it is for her to keep her head held high, she does it well." I paused for a moment and looked at Dom again, "You like her."

"I've known her forever," Dom said, not tearing his eyes off of Letty. "I think it's honestly passed the point of liking her." He looked at me for a moment, "She's 15." He repeated, this time sounding more firm.

"Dom," I turned towards him. "You're not so old yourself."

"What can I offer her? I just got out of jail, and I'm barely standing on my own. Letty's gonna find someone who can offer her the world. Someone who can take care of her." he said.

"You really believe that?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I mean, I know I kinda just came into this situation, so I might not know shit, but I think if Letty heard you say what you just said, she'd tell you to fuck off. She _likes_ you and you and I both know that Letty doesn't give a shit about the world. She only cares about **who's** in her world."

"Yeah, well…" Dom shrugged and then turned to me. "What about you?"

"What about me?" I blinked. I was really hoping that the conversation wouldn't turn on me. I didn't wish hard enough.

Dom just nodded his head towards the basketball game and looked at me.

"Oh, Jesus, not you too!" I sighed, "We're _friends_." I said my voice stern. Dom just looked at me, disbelief painted on his features. "Okay, fine." I caved in and before I knew it, I was letting out more information than I hoped to. "I don't know what's going on in my life. I'm so caught up in my own little world that I am totally oblivious to people who are looking out for my best interests right now. I mean, I don't know who hates me, or likes me. I don't even know if **I** like me. I think that I'm just past all the bullshit and I am honestly preparing myself with being comfortable with the idea of being lonely for the rest of my life." I grabbed my beer and took a big drink. I don't know why I felt like I'd just confessed my sins to a priest. I should've felt embarrassed for rambling the way I did to Dom, but oddly enough I didn't; I felt like I had gotten something off my chest.

Dom rested his clasped hands under his chin and looked at me. "Nah..." He shook his head.

"What?" I asked looking at him.

"One thing I've known my whole life is that no one is destined to be alone. If you choose to be, fine, but destined? It's just not the way it works. You can close yourself off to the outside world and live your life in solitude, or you can open yourself up to people and hope they embrace you for whoever you are." Dom looked down for a moment before meeting my eyes, "Back in the day, my father used to call me a tornado because of my tendency to take out anything that was in my way; I could be an asshole if I needed to be, still can. I've lived around here for a long time and I've known some pretty fucked up people. Leon, though? Leon is like the calm after the storm. He doesn't react to situations; doesn't get himself involved like I do. He likes to sit back and observe. I've only known him for awhile and even I know that it takes a lot to earn Leon's trust, but when you do, you're in with him for the long haul. He'll never disappoint or let you go without. Once you're in his good graces, you're considered part of the family. Not many people can say that."

I looked down at beer and tried to take in everything Dom had just said. "Yeah, but, that applies to people other than me. He's helping me out right now, and anyway, you guys don't even know me; I could be a serial killer or a head case." I pointed out.

"Hm." Dom said, as if he were truly considering it. "Nah, I got a good read on people. You're definitely too small and… bubbly to be a serial killer and as far as head case goes? I doubt it. Everyone has their issues. 'Sides, even if you were a head case, you'd still manager to fit in this dysfunctional family." He said, cracking a grin.

"I think you're full of it." I said, nodding my head.

"Oh come on…" Dom said.

I looked up, as if I were reconsidering. "Yep, you're definitely full of it. You're a wonderful speaker though." I added. "You definitely have a way of commanding attention."

"Yeah," Dom shook his head and laughed. "You've definitely been hanging around us too long. Already got that dry sense of humor going on…"

"Oops! Is that a foul or something?" Mia asked, confused.

Dom and I turned our attention back to the game that was going on.

"Ya think??" Leon called, lying on the ground. "She elbowed me!"

"I did not!" Letty rolled her eyes. "My elbow accidently came in contact with your stomach."

"Yeah, right!" Leon said, wincing. "Call the foul, Mia!"

"She didn't see it!" Letty said.

"Uh..." Mia looked around, helpless.

I laughed, "Dysfunctional family is right."

"It's great though, ain't it?" Dom grinned.

I smiled a big smile and nodded, "Yeah, it is."


	22. Chapter 20

Leon dropped me off at home around 3 am. I thanked him quickly and got out of the car. I didn't want to seem too hasty, but I was starting to feel bad about the fact that he was driving me around everywhere. I decided sometime in the car that I wouldn't make him feel obligated to have me come over anymore.

When I got inside, I saw Jason lying on my couch, asleep. Sighing quietly to myself, I reached over and grabbed a blanket from the recliner and draped it over him.

"Don't get too comfortable..." I muttered, knowing he wouldn't hear me.

I kicked off my shoes and walked to my room, flicking on the light.

"Oh, shit..." I swore under my breath. I'd forgotten my wallet over at Leon's. I went over and picked up the phone only to set it back down. I didn't want to disturb him now; he was probably just getting home, preparing for bed.

"Fuck it," I thought to myself as I pulled my tank top over my head, "I'll just get it tomorrow."

**

"Hey, Leon." Letty said, dropping herself at the end of my bed.

"Hm?" I murmured, turning to face her, barely getting my eyes open.

"We're out of milk." Letty frowned.

"So go get some." I suggested, throwing the pillow over my face.

"Alright," Letty shrugged. "Gimme your keys..."

"Very funny." I paused. "Are you still here?"

"Leon." Letty sighed. "We need some milk..."

"It's way too fuckin' early. I am not getting up, Letty." I growled.

"Fine. Whatever." Letty grumbled. "Let me know when you do. Amber forgot her wallet and you'll probably need to drop it off to her."

I took the pillow off my face. "What?"

Letty smirked a little. "Yeah, she forgot her wallet. I put it up but she'll probably need it."

"Oh." I said. "Well, give it to me. I'll take it to her."

""And get some milk?" Letty asked.

"Yeah, whatever." I sat up. "Alright," I said, off her look. "I'll get you some damn milk. I don't know why you couldn't just borrow some from next door."

"Ew!" Letty made a face. "Hell no. You know, I think they milk their cat or something. I wouldn't touch anything from them."

I shook my head and laughed, "Alright...fine. Anyone in the garage yet?"

"Dom's there now." Letty said. "Mia's in the office, filing paperwork for you."

"New parts from Tony's come in yet?" I asked.

"Yeah, this morning." Letty said. "Shawn called; he wants to know how long it'd take for him to get the clutch fixed on his car."

"Tell Mia to call him back. It'll take at least 1 day. That should make him happy. Business isn't exactly booming this month..."

"Okay," She nodded. "Well, I'm gonna go to the shop."

"Okay." I said.

"Oh!" She reached in her pocket and held out the wallet to me. "Thanks."

"See ya, Leon." She said, ducking out of the room.

"Wait!" I called. "I thought you wanted some fucking milk?"

"Don't worry about it now!" I heard her say as she slammed the front door.

I looked at the clock and rolled my eyes. "Fuckin' Letty."


	23. Chapter 21

I went over to Amber's first, hoping she was up. I didn't want to wake her up. When I got to her front door, it was cracked open.

I froze on the spot, not sure what to do.

I shoved the wallet in my back pocket and pushed the door open a little, poking my head in.

"Hello?" I said, feeling my pulse race.

"Amber?" I called out.

Silence and then I heard a laugh.

I exhaled and walked in the door, quietly closing it behind me.

When I walked into the living room, I stopped in my tracks.

Amber and Jason were both sitting on the couch, laughing hysterically over something one of them had said.

I noticed Jason's hand resting on her left knee, I cleared my throat.

"Leon!" Amber pulled herself up. "Wh… what are you doing here?"

I pulled out the wallet and held it in front of her, "Forgot this over at my place." I said dryly.

"Oh." She said, breathlessly. "Okay, thanks."

Something seemed off about her. I didn't know what it was, but the way she and Jason came off… it didn't seem _right_.

"Everything cool here?" I asked, looking back and forth between both of them.

"Yeah." Amber said, wiping her eyes and refocusing on me. "Yeah, we're just hanging out…"

I knelt down and put my hand on her shoulder, wanting her to look at me in the eyes. "What's wrong?" I asked.

"What?" she asked, narrowing her eyes. "Nothing's wrong."

I put my hand under her chin and tilted her head upward, so I could look her in the eyes.

I blinked and looked towards Jason and then at the coffee table.

"Oh, _fuck_." I muttered.

"Leon?" Amber asked, throwing a nervous look at Jason.

"Fuck. Fuck." I paced back and forth for a moment, running my hands through my hair. I couldn't think straight at that moment. I had no idea how to handle anything; what to do. I stopped pacing and walked back towards her, trying to think logically. "What'd you take?"

"Nothing." Amber said, sinking in the couch. "I didn't… it's nothing."

"Don't fucking lie to me, alright?" I bit out. "I'm not stupid; your pupils are fucking dilated for crying out loud!"

She moved back even further and then threw a glance at Jason.

"Dude." He said. "Just chill out and don't worry about it. Leave her alone, she's fine."

I growled under my breath and looked at him. "What the fuck did you give her?"

"Nothin', man!" Jason rolled his eyes. "Nothin' she hasn't had before."

I ignored him and turned back to Amber, "We need to talk." I told her.

"So talk." She said, giving me a hard stare.

"Alone." I clarified.

"Why? I really… I just don't want to right now –"

I moved past her and pulled Jason up by the sleeve of his shirt. "You need to go."

"What the fu ---?" I heard him say before I slammed the door in his face.

"Now we're alone." I said, turning back to Amber. "What the fuck are you on?"

She looked at the door, her eyes wide before focusing back on me. "That's none of your business."

"Where's it at?" I walked towards the coffee table. "Is it on here, huh?"

"Leon." Amber cried, her hands covering her mouth, "Stop! Please? Just go… "

I shoved some of the stuff aside and spotted crystal looking white powder. There was a small pipe sitting next to it. I ran my hands through my hair and took a deep breath.

"Leon?" Amber said her voice still muffled. "That's totally not what it looks like... it's..."

"Then what the fuck is it?" I yelled. "Huh? **What** is it? What the hell were you thinkin' taking this shit?"

"It's not like it's my first time!" She yelled back. "Oh don't look so shocked, Leon! **This** is what I was talking about. You don't know me. You know _anything_ about me."

"I know that you're better than this." I walked over to her. "I know that **you** don't need this shit."

She looked at me for a second, "Fuck off."

I blinked. "Is this why you take it?" I asked. "Because it makes you feel so good? Does it make you happier?'Cause if that's the case, I'm really seeing it. You're comin' off as a real people person." I said, sarcastically.

"Fine." She snapped, pushing past me. "Unfuck off, I don't care."

"Well I do." I said simply. "**I** care. I want to help you."

"You have no idea who I am. You have no idea why I do what I do." She turned around, "Don't you dare act like you know anything about me." She shoved me. "This is who I am. You don't like it, then you can fucking leave."

"This isn't you." I shook my head, "I may not have been in your life as long as that asshole out there, but I know that this is not you."

"I'm really not in the mood to argue with you." She sighed, "Just go."

"C'mon." I said, touching her arm. "Let me help you."

"Get away from me!" She snapped, pulling away. "Don't touch me!"

"You're gonna make this hard aren't you?" I shrugged. "Fine." I picked her up and threw her over my shoulder.

"Put me down, Leon!" She cried. "Godammit, leave me alone!"

I ignored her bitching and walked straight to her bathroom. I kicked her door shut behind me and went over to the bathtub, turning on the water.

"I'm _not_ getting in there." She said through gritted teeth.

"Willingly? No." I said, setting her in the freezing water.

"Jesus Christ!" She yelled, thrashing under my hands. "What's the fucking point of this? It's fucking cold in here."

"I can guarantee that you're hot." I told her.

I knew my fair share of drugs and side effects, even though I'd never done anything that extreme. I knew that by putting her in the cold water, she'd somewhat wake up. When I had come over, she was probably starting to feel the side effects of drugs and I wanted to take that away as quickly as possible. She needed to sober up.

Eventually she stopped thrashing, her chest heaved under my hands, trying to catch a breath. Her chin quivered as she crossed her arms over her chest and closed her eyes, letting the water runs all over her body.

"Let me out." She bit out.

I didn't answer her just then. I couldn't. I stood there for a moment, just watching the droplets of cold water fall down her cheeks. Maybe it was tears, I couldn't tell.

After a minute or two, I leaned over and put my hands under her arms to lift her up. I started to help her up and almost immediately after she stood, her legs gave way and she fell against me.

"Okay... okay..." I said against her hair, picking her up. "C'mon..."

I carried her to her room and set her on her bed. She was still shivering violently, rocking back and forth.

"Where are your clothes?" I asked her, going through her dressers.

She had her legs drawn to her chest, her arms wrapped tightly around them. She looked away from me, clenching her jaw.

I managed to find a few things and threw them on the bed next to her.

"Let's take these off of you, okay?" I said, kneeling in front of her.

She swallowed hard and continued looking in the distance. I could tell she probably felt humiliated.

I grabbed the bottom of her tank top and pulled it over her head. I caught her eye as I threw the tank top aside and she looked completely vacant.

"Hey," I said, tilting her chin towards me. "It's okay, don't be embarrassed."

Still nothing.

Taking in a deep breath, I reached down and unbuttoned her jeans. I tried to disassociate myself with what I was doing. I wasn't going to focus on the way her jeans clung to the curve of her hips. I couldn't kid myself anymore; it was like, despite the situation, here I was with a girl I was attracted to. I could feel her skin against mine.

I gently pushed her back against the bed and started to tug on her jeans, hoping they'd pull off. I reached around her waist and started to pull a little harder.

Amber seemed to snap out of whatever world she was in and her hands found mine. She started tugging harder, pulling the jeans down. After a few minutes of struggling, they came off.

She stepped out of them and stood in front of me, hands to her sides, fists clenched.

She was still in her bra and underwear, which were soaking wet.

I ran my hands through my hair and nodded to her, "We're gonna have to get this off, y'know."

She looked away.

I looked around the room for a moment, finally finding what I was looking for. I went over and grabbed the beach towel and held it out to her. "Here," I said. "Hold this over your front while I take the stuff off, okay?"

I reached behind her and fumbled with the bra clasp as if it were my first time ever doing it. I undid it and moved back a little so she could take it off and do whatever she had to do to cover up.

"I'm gonna turn around." I said, facing the door. "Just let me know when you're done."

Staring at the wall really wasn't good therapy for the thoughts that were entering my mind. I scolded myself quietly for even thinking about what I just saw.

"She's fuckin' amped, man..." I told myself.

She cleared her throat and I turned around. She had changed into what I had given her. She looked so tiny in the big t-shirt.

When I actually looked at her face, she was biting on her bottom lip slightly, trying to hold back her tears.

"Oh God," I said softly, walking over to her and pulling her towards me.

"I'm so fucking embarrassed..." Amber said, her throat tight with tears.

"Don't worry about it." I said quietly.

"No." She shook her head. "I fucked up. I… I'm a fucked up person. I can't believe I was such a bitch to you; you, the one who has been helping me out all this time. I can't get anything right. I actually liked you. I thought that there was a chance… and I manage to fuck it up." She said, tears flowing freely down her face.

I looked down and bit my lip. Why the fuck did it have to be now that she told me? Why couldn't it of been at a better time when things would've been much easier? But it had happened now, at a time where everything was just so wrong.

Without responding, I leaned in and kissed her forehead, to let her know that it was okay. Somewhere during that, she lifted up her head and our lips met.

Her lips were soft and full against mine. I pulled away from her and kicked myself silently for kissing her back.

It wasn't that I didn't want to kiss her, 'cause God I did. Kissing her had been everything I thought it'd be. I felt pulled in, like I couldn't get enough.

For a quick moment she had a look of rejection in her eyes, but as sudden as it was there, it was gone.

"Let's uh, let's get you to bed..." I said quietly.

Without a word she laid down on the bed.

I slid next to her and wrapped my arms around her waist. I figured she'd sleep better if she knew that someone was right there with her. I didn't want her to feel like I hated her. My feelings for her were far from hatred. I didn't realize until tonight that I cared for her as much as I did. I don't know why, but I couldn't blame her for any of it. Whatever reasons she had for using drugs, I think that in her mind, she needed them... just like she needed Jason and Jordan. Maybe they made her feel better about herself or maybe she escaped into a better place where things actually made sense in the fucked up world she was in. Whatever the reason was, I wanted to be the one to show her that she didn't need it.

I watched her as she fell into a deep slumber, listened as the breath escaped her lips. I was beginning to memorize her features.

Could I let myself fall any more in love with this girl? Did I ever really have a choice?


	24. Chapter 22

_**Life is like a beautiful melody, only the lyrics are messed up. **_

_Author Unknown_

**

"Hey, Dom..." I said, walking into the office in the garage.

"Amber, hey!" Dom said, looking up from the stack of paperwork that was sitting in front of him.

"You busy?" I asked.

"Nah. Mia wasn't feelin' too well today so I just started to sort out all this paperwork." Dom said, separating the papers. "I don't know how she does this shit everyday. It's a pain in the ass."

"It looks like it." I commented, sitting next to him. "So is this invoices and stuff?"

"Yeah," Dom said, sighing. "Month to month. We're 'spose to keep track of all this shit in case of future problems but we're kinda lagging."

"Ah." I nodded. "If you need any help, let me know. I kinda deal with that kind of stuff everyday..."

"Thanks." Dom smiled.

"So, uh, is... uh," I said, tripping over my own words.

"Yeah, he should be in the back where the other cars are." Dom said.

"Oh." I looked down, scolding myself for being so obvious.

"I figured you were here to talk to him." Dom shrugged.

"Right..." I nodded.

I didn't want to move. When I decided to come over to the shop, I'd been prepared to talk to Leon -- to explain myself, but the moment I stepped into the shop, all of that left me and I couldn't do it.

"He isn't really busy..." Dom added lightly.

"Thanks," I said, holding back a laugh from Dom's bad attempt at being casual. "I appreciate it."

He nodded slightly in the Dom way and went back to his paperwork.

I contemplated the things I was going to say to Leon as I made my way to the back of the garage. I thought about all of the things he would probably say to me and honestly, nothing could really prepare me for it. I had no excuse for what Leon saw yesterday.

When I found him, he was leaning against a car, drinking a beer. He looked as though he was the one that had been thinking.

"Hey." I said softly, leaning against a Chevy.

He snapped out of whatever he was thinking about and looked at me, a surprised look replacing the thoughtful one.

"Oh." He said, sitting up a little. "Hey."

"What's up?" I asked, slowly walking towards him.

"Not much..." He said, taking another drink of his beer.

_Well, this is going well..._

"So when did you take off?" I asked.

"I left around 3..." Leon said. "I woke you up and told you but I figured you didn't really hear me."

"Oh." I felt stupid. "Okay."

That awkward silence crept its way into the air again.

"Look, Leon," I sighed. "About yesterday, I'm _really_ sorry."

He stayed quiet for a moment before responding, "It's fine..."

He was lying and I knew it. "No, it really isn't. I'm sorry if I dragged you into this..."

"Don't be." He said shortly.

God, I felt like I was having a conversation with myself. Why couldn't he have made this a bit easier on me? I felt stupid standing there, having Leon judge me.

"Okay..." I said slowly, not sure what to say.

"Why are you making this hard?" I asked, voicing my thoughts.

"I'm not making anything hard." He said. "I..."

"You what?" I asked, blinking. "Now you don't have anything to say? C'mon Leon... talk to me."

"What do you want me to say, Amber?" He asked.

"I... I don't know." I said, defeated. "I put you in a compromising situation."

"Yeah," he nodded. "You did."

"And I'm sorry for that." I continued. "I said a lot of stupid things..."

He stayed quiet.

"But I don't regret it." I said quickly. "When I... when I told you that I liked you? I really meant it. I don't know how you feel about me but I know that when I kissed you, you kissed me back..."

"I know I did." Leon admitted. "I like you a lot. It just happened at a bad time, you know?"

I pushed back the hurt that was starting to form inside.

"I really think we should take this one day at a time." Leon continued.

"Okay." I said quietly. It was a little comforting to know that he did have feelings for me, but I hated knowing that he had control over what would happen; over what _should_ happen. How was he able to anchor his feelings so well?

"I'm going to take off..." I said, shrugging it off.

"Okay." Leon nodded. "Hey, I'll uh... I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"Okay." I said evenly. "See you later, then..."

I walked through the garage and waved quickly to Dom before heading outside. When I got outside, I leaned against the wall and took in a huge breath, hoping to make the dizziness I was feeling, disappear.

_"Godammit, Amber_." I swore.

I needed confidence that everything would be okay.

I needed an anchor of some sort.

I needed to find Jason.


	25. Chapter 23

_**However good or bad you feel about your relationship, the person you are with at this moment is the "right" person, because he or she is the mirror of who you are inside.**_

- _Deepak Chopra_

**

When I had first arrived to LA, I didn't know anybody. I didn't know much about myself, either...

In fact, that only thing that I had known for sure was that I needed to get away from what I was brought up into. My mother's alcoholic tendencies and her abusive relationships...

It really was a last minute thing. One day, while lying in bed, I sat up and started to pack up my things. I emptied my bank account (something my mother and Dwayne, her husband at the time, didn't know about...) and left on a greyhound bus. No note, no goodbye, no nothing...

When I got to LA, I rented a motel room for a few nights. My first week there, I had decided to go out and see what there was to do. I thought that I could've done some searching; maybe find a job, before I let the roaches from the motel keep me company.

I went down to a small bar on Hollywood Boulevard, granted it wasn't the best place and I wasn't over 21 or anything but I knew I could pass for it and see if there was some way I could start small by waitressing or whatever.

When I walked in, the place had been practically empty. There were 2 people in the corner section of the bar, laughing together and joking. I noticed the guy instantly. He was just beautiful to me; he had dark brown hair that fell lightly over his forehead and big blue eyes. I'd thought at that moment that I had been in love. The girl he was with was another story. She was tall and thin. Dark brown hair framed her very pretty face; her dark black eyeliner had almost made her blue eyes look hauntingly pretty.

I guess they noticed me throwing stares their way because after a few minutes, the girl approached me.

"Hey," she offered a smile. "I'm Jordan."

"Amber," I told her, immediately feeling intimidated.

"You new to town or something?" Jordan asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Yeah," I admitted, wondering if I had really seemed that obvious.

"Oh," she said. "That's cool."

I looked past her for a moment and looked at the guy again.

A smile appeared on her red lips. "That's Jason over there. C'mon, I'll introduce ya."

I don't know why I went with her. I mean, what kind of person is that forward in the first place? What kind of person just walks up to a stranger and introduces them, offering to take 'em around town for a bit? Jordan was.

So I met Jason and I was immediately taken back by him. He had this coolness about him that was hard to define. He was just so relaxed; almost like nothing ever got to him.

We kind of hit it off and the next thing I knew, I was hanging out with Jason and Jordan and their set of friends almost every night. I didn't quite find a job then but I didn't care...

I was in a place where I was actually enjoying life. Enjoying what I had to offer.

Then one day, out of nowhere, Jordan handed me a flier.

"A party?" I asked, frowning.

I didn't dig parties too much. They were always crammed with under aged teens whose hormones were out of control.

"C'mon. It won't be so bad," Jordan said. "Ya gotta go, A."

'A' was a nickname Jordan had started using when she was being so coaxing. You could read a lot off of Jordan by the way she spoke. You could tell that if she used your full name, she wasn't really happy at that moment.

"I...I…" I started, trying to object.

"Jason's going to be there." she said, raising her eyebrows.

I never told her that I had a small thing for Jason. I didn't even know if I had a small crush on him but Jordan seemed to think that I did, and the thought of Jason being there suddenly the whole party thing didn't sound as bad as I thought it'd be...

I mean, if they were going, it would have to be cool, right?

"Fine..." I sighed. "Count me in."

Jordan squealed and threw her arms around me. "You rock, A!"

**

The party ended up being at some trashy house on the bad side of town. It was so packed, bodies were practically pressed against each other; the atmosphere smelled like alcohol and sweat.

Immediately, I started to feel the need for air, so I managed to slip through a few people, before someone grabbed my hand.

I looked behind me and found Jason standing there, smiling.

"Lost?" he asked.

I nodded sheepishly, following him as he led me to an open corner.

"Having fun?" he asked.

I nodded and smiled. "No."

And he laughed. It was a beautiful thing, hearing him laugh. He didn't do it much. "You can hang with me tonight." He said, his blue eyes twinkling.

"Alright," I said softly, knowing he couldn't hear me over the loud music.

He took my hand and pulled me towards the garage. I really didn't know what he was planning on doing. I liked him, a lot, but that didn't stop the fear that was creeping up inside of my stomach.

I felt relieved when we got to the garage, there were about six other people there already, all sitting on the worn down couches that were in there. One of the people already there was Jordan.

I let go of Jason's hand and knelt down next to Jordan.

"Hey," I said. "What's up?"

She looked at me and blinked, as if she had to register who I was.

"A!" She grinned with delight. "What's going on?"

I shook my head and looked at the table in front of them. I saw exactly why Jordan had been so out of it. She had a pipe in her hand.

"Um," I looked back at Jordan. "What's all of this?"

"Oh." Jordan grinned. "It's uh," she handed the pipe to Jason and turned back to me, "its stuff."

"Right." I said raising an eyebrow. "Stuff."

"It's not bad." Jordan said softly. "It really isn't. It'll liven you up."

"Sure." I laughed, uncomfortably. I felt like I was in a fucking after school special.

They passed the pipe around and it finally reached me. I looked down at it, disbelievingly and back at Jordan.

"C'mon, A..." She coaxed. "Just try it...experiment a little..."

I looked over at Jason and he looked back at me. It's hard to describe but there was something in his eyes, something that made my stomach jump a little. It was like _he_ wanted me and I liked that. It made me feel good.

I reached over and took the pipe from Jordan, and pressed it to my lips. I felt the smoke ease down my throat and to my lungs, and then nothing but calm. It was like I had found a part of me that I didn't know about; something that was buried beneath all of the hostility and stress. A part of me that wasn't scarred.

I felt Jason's hand touch my shoulders as he massaged them a little, and I relaxed against his touch. I must've sat there for a few hours, feeling nothing but at ease.

The next thing I knew, I was outside with Jason, most likely in the backyard or something. The cold air beat against our skin as we clumsily undressed each other.

"You're beautiful to me," he whispered against my mouth.

And I'd **felt** beautiful at that time. I **felt** wanted.

That was the night I gained and lost everything at once. I gained the love I desperately needed, or so I thought. I lost some control, lost my choices.

I lost myself inside of Jason and I think he enjoyed enveloping every piece of me, no matter how broken.

I loved Jason. I really did. I loved the image of him that I had caused myself to see. I loved hearing the words that he had never really said. I loved pretending that I had something real with him.

And I think if I was asked why I ever loved Jason at all, I could only reply by simply answering: because it was him; because it was me.


	26. Chapter 24

**

"So who was that guy, anyway?" Jason asked, lying back against the couch.

"Guy?" I murmured. "What guy?"

I took small, relaxed breaths. The air seemed paper-thin to me.

"That fuckin' guy," Jason said again. "The one who came over yesterday."

"Oh," I said, frowning at Jason mentioning Leon. "Him."

"Yeah," he sneered. "_Him_."

"That was Leon," I said.

"What a fuckin' dick," Jason mumbled.

"Shut up," I muttered.

"Oh..." Jason said, laughing. "I take it he got scared off after what he saw? He prolly didn't want you anyway…"

I flinched and pushed back the pain that his words bruised me with. "Shut up."

"I'm just sayin'..." He shrugged.

I rubbed my temples, hoping to clear out the haze. When you're amped, you can't straighten things out. You just want to get up and do something to keep your mind for focusing on one specific thing...

I looked down and noticed Jason's hand stroking my hand.

I felt sick. I didn't want him touching me. "Don't," I said my voice rough.

"Oh c'mon..." Jason said, scooting closer to me, that look in his eyes.

"Don't," I said again, more firmly.

Suddenly, I felt very disgusted with myself. I felt like shit and I couldn't breathe. I should've never went to his house… I should've never let myself get so low…

"I... I gotta get out of here," I mumbled weakly to myself as I stood up.

"Where are you going?" Jason sneered.

I grabbed my jacket and went to the door, "Away from here." I snapped, slamming the door behind me.

**

I ended up walking home, which wasn't such a bad thing. I was able to breathe... everything didn't seem so cluttered.

I walked up to the steps of my apartment when I noticed a shadowed figure sitting on the steps. I slowed my pace a little.

"Hey..." Leon said, standing up.

I unconsciously looked away, "Hey."

"I... I, uh, figured you'd be home soon. So I decided to wait..." he said.

"Oh," I nodded, trying not to sound surprised.

I moved past him and started to put the key in the lock, hoping to unlock the door as quickly as possible.

"So, um..." He looked down at my hands and back at me. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm good." I made the mistake of looking at him, "Why?"

His eyes narrowed for a moment and he took a step back. "You have fun?"

"Yes," I lied. "So what's up?"

"Nothin'..." Leon ran his hands through his hair.

"Did you wanna talk?" I asked quietly.

"I _did_ but..." he trailed off.

My defense automatically came up. "Are you going to lecture me or something?" I snapped.

"Why do you do this to yourself?" he asked me.

"I'm not doing anything, Leon," I said. "I'm just living my fucking life."

"Okay," He nodded as if he had come to a conclusion or something. "I'm going to take off now."

I don't know why I got like that with him. I knew he didn't deserve the attitude I gave him; I knew _I_ didn't deserve to have him in my life at all.

"Wait," I sighed. "Leon, stay. Please... just talk to me?"

"I can't," he said, starting to walk away. "Not while you're like this."

I watched as he walked away from me and I could feel the tears starting to burn my eyes. It was like no matter what he did, I just kept pushing him away.

I wondered how long it would be before he was completely out of my reach.


	27. Chapter 25

I waited about a week before calling Amber again. I left a message on her answering machine asking her to meet me at my house.

She arrived without any question. I could tell she was a bit hesitant about what I was going to say or what I was going to do.

"How's it going?" I asked, welcoming her inside.

"Good..." she nodded her voice a little hoarse.

"So..." Amber gestured weakly. "You called."

I searched for a good choice of words to use. "I want to help you," I said as if it were that simple.

She laughed a little and looked at me. "With what?"

"With... with everything," I said.

"Well I don't need help," Amber pulled away. "I don't need you trying to tell me what to do. I'm not a fucking kid. I'm not someone you can order around."

"I'm not trying to order you around," I insisted. "I just think you need help, you know? I want to help you stop using drugs."

"It's just something I do. God, Leon... I'm not an addict," Amber laughed.

"It's not a question whether you're an addict or not. If we really want things to happen between us, then you gotta stop doing it," I said.

She blinked like she couldn't believe what I had just said.

"I don't need to be your fucking charity case," she snapped.

"I'm not trying to..." I started.

"And I really don't appreciate this. You want me to stop my life just so I can see if something will '_happen_' between us? No. No, Leon. I'm not going to stop living because you say so," Amber said.

"You aren't living your life," I told her as I reached over and touched her arm. "You're hurting yourself."

She winced and pulled away from me. "What do you know, anyway? What the fuck do you know about anything?"

She moved towards the door. I walked over and blocked it.

"You can't just walk away from this," I told her. "You can't ignore it and expect it to go away."

"I... I don't need this..." she said blankly, pushing past me. "I don't need...I don't need you putting this on me. I don't need you in my life if all you're going to do is judge me. Here are your fucking keys." She shoved my car keys in my hand. "Have a nice life."

And she was gone.


	28. Chapter 26

"Hey," I said to Mia as soon as I walked in the door. "Dom around?"

"Yeah," Mia said, not even bothering to look up from her books. "Family room."

"Thanks," I said.

I walked into the back room and found Dom sitting on the couch, bag of chips chillin' by his side as he watched some boxing match on TV.

"Hey," Dom said, looking up at me as I slumped onto the recliner.

"Hi," I said, wishing I could sink deeper into the chair.

"You don't look too happy," he noted, looking me over. "Somethin' go wrong?"

"Everything went wrong," I muttered, rubbing my eyes.

"Girl problems?" Dom asked.

"You could say that." I sighed. "Things are fucked up right now..."

"Oh," Dom frowned. "What happened?"

I hesitated for a second. Not really sure if I should spill to Dom about what I had been going through. I thought about it again, and reminded myself that it was Dom. He, above everyone else, was a really good listener.

Dom listened intently as I told him everything. His expression never seemed to change, though. I don't even think he blinked once.

"Well..." Dom said, sitting back and taking in a huge breath. "Uh..."

"I know," I said.

"So, you're just gonna let it go?" Dom asked.

"Yes, no, I... I don't know." I admitted. "I mean, what else is there for me to do, you know? It's like she's comfortable with this whole thing, she doesn't _want_ to change."

"Maybe she just doesn't know how to," Dom suggested.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well," Dom shrugged. "The girl is in a very tough spot, you know? It's almost like she's stuck on being **unhappy**."

"So what would you do Dom?" I asked.

Dom stayed quiet for a moment, as if he were really thinking about it. "I would try to help her," he replied.

"She doesn't _want_ help, though..." I said.

"Yeah she does," Dom snorted. "Leon, she's in that place where she feels like she has nothing else going for her, of course she isn't going to come out and ask you for help. You gotta show it to her. You gotta show her that you're not ready to give up just yet. Look, you like her, she likes you. It's really not all that difficult to begin with. You gotta work your way through it, that's all..."

"Is it worth it though?" I asked aloud.

"That's up to you to decide," Dom said, simply. "No one said it's gonna be easy. You're gonna have to be prepared to be serious about this. If she does quit, there might be some downfalls. It might even take her awhile but you need to _show_ her that she has more going on for her than being high most of the fucking time. You gotta be there for her. Be her support system."

He was right. Amber wasn't going to ask for the help that she needed. She was going to keep pushing me away and I couldn't let that happen. In just the span of a few months, she'd become a close friend of mine. Someone I cared about deeply. If I turned my back on her now, it would almost be like turning my back on Mia... or even Letty.

I remembered the night before, at the barbeque, when Dom and Amber had been talking. I'd been so curious about what they had talked about... I really wanted to know. I knew, though, that whatever it was, it was a good thing. Dom was pushing me to help her. He must've sensed something about her, something that told him that this situation could be helped.

"Alright, dawg," I said, standing up. "Thanks..."


	29. Chapter 27

I harassed Mia and Letty for about a half an hour before they would tell me anything about where Amber would be at 10 o clock at night.

"C'mon," I rolled my eyes at them. "Just spill it already."

Mia looked at me and threw a side glance at Letty. "I don't know..."

I was losing all my patience. "Oh Christ, just tell me or I swear I'll put you both on paperwork for six months straight."

"Okay, **fine**." Letty growled. "She usually hangs out at that one place..."

"Oh, that helps." I rolled my eyes again.

"Uhm," Mia was gesturing wildly, trying to figure out the name or something. "You know, that one big club off of Jefferson and Fifth."

"Thanks." I said, moving past them to get to the door.

"No problem. Just don't screw things up this time!" Mia called. I didn't pay attention to that, though. I had to find Amber before things got worse.

**

I walked into the club and looked around. The place was packed; I slid my way through the crowd, searching faces.

I spotted her in the corner of the club, leaning against the wall. I shoved a few people out of my way and approached the crowd she was with.

She looked tired. Her body was relaxed as she twirled the ends of her hair with her finger.

"Hi." I said, approaching her, throwing a helpful smile.

"Oh God," she groaned, almost slurring. "What do you want?"

"To talk," I said simply.

"Pfft." She snorted, leaning down to grab her beer. "Yeah, okay."

"Can we just, you know, talk outside or something?" I asked. "I want to explain to you about earlier."

"Leon, you and I both know that you suck at explaining things so just... just go away, okay?" She moved past me.

"Amber." I grabbed her arm and turned her around to face me. "You don't understand..."

"Of course I don't understand." She rolled her eyes. "I don't speak asshole."

I swallowed and looked at her. "C'mon, just talk to me... please?"

She downed the rest of her beer and set it down on the table next to her. "I need another beer."

"No." I said firmly. "Okay, look. One minute. I promise."

"And what exactly do we have to talk about here?" she asked. "Just let it go... I mean, why should we even bother?"

"Because, in the end, I think it'd be worth it." I told her quietly.

Her eyes softened for a moment and she turned away. "I gotta get out of here."

She pushed her way past the crowd and I followed her.

"Amber!" I called. "You can't just walk away from this."

She stumbled a little and leaned against a car.

"C'mon, let's get away from here." I reached out and took her hand in mine.

"St...Stop..." Amber mumbled, weakly pushing me away. "Just... just don't touch me, okay?"

It almost sounded like a plea. I let go of her momentarily and she fell to her knees, her body hunched over as she wrapped her arms around herself.

"Amber…" I said leaning down to help her back up.

"Don't touch me!" She snapped. "Just go home, Leon."

"I can't leave you like this." I said. "I'm **not** going to leave you like this."

"Don't do this to me..." Amber said quietly.

"Do what?" I asked. "I'm not doing anything."

"Don't make me feel like… like I'm going crazy. All these fucking games… I can't do it anymore. I'm so exhausted." She said.

"You don't **need** this." I told her, gesturing behind me. "You don't fuckin' need _them_."

Her body shook a little. I realized that she was sobbing.

"Am," I said, kneeling down next to her. "C'mon, let's go home."

"No," she said stubbornly. "I just want to be alone."

"You're not in the right state to be alone..." I said.

"I've dealt with it this long..." she mumbled. "Please, just let me deal with _my_ life."

She covered her face with her hands, trying to cover up the tears.

"Oh God..." I said, wrapping my arms around her. "C'mon..."

She shook her head violently and looked at me, tears streaming down her face.

"Why do you want to help me so bad?" she asked. "I'm _not_ worth it. I'm not who you thought I was. I'm... oh God, I'm a horrible person."

"You're _not_ a horrible person, Amber." I told her... "You're just lost. It's not charity. It's not about **me** feeling good about myself at the end of the day. It's about me caring for you and wanting to keep you safe. It's about me trying to make you realize that there's more out there than this. That there are other people out there who care for you."

She looked away from me and exhaled. I could feel how tense she had been. I felt how scared she was. I wiped the tears from her cheeks and helped her up.

I wanted this girl in my life. There was no question about it.


	30. Chapter 28

I could feel my body racking with sobs as I hugged myself tighter. I didn't want to be here. I didn't want to face the fact that Leon was right. I had gotten used to living my life completely numb.

I felt like I was a horrible person. I felt like I was ripped of a life I should've had.

"You're not a horrible person, Amber." Leon reassured me. "You're just lost. It's not charity. It's not about me feeling good about myself at the end of the day. It's about me caring for you and wanting to keep you safe. It's about me trying to make you realize that there's more out there than this. That there are other people out there who care for you."

Everything stopped spinning and the world stood still for a second. I took in a deep breath and I could feel the tears trailing down my cheeks again. Leon reached over and wiped them away. My eyes filled with tears again as he leaned in and spoke softly into my ear. I wanted to believe him when he said that he'd help me. I knew he was telling the truth. There's something about a touch that reassures you more than words could, though. His smile seemed to say even more. Yet nothing could ever beat the way I felt when he wiped those tears from my cheeks and whispered, "You're still beautiful when you cry."

At that moment, I felt like I could be beautiful. I felt like I could be the person I wanted to be. I just wanted to be able to look at myself in the mirror again and be satisfied with who I saw in the reflection.


	31. Chapter 29

"Okay." She looked at me, her eyes wide.

'_Okay, I want help._' Her eyes seemed to be saying.

I looked at her and smiled. "Okay." I nodded. "Here, let me help you up..."

She grabbed my arms and started to pull herself up only to fall back down. "You okay?" I asked, pulling her against me. "You good to go?"

"Uh huh..." she said against my chest.

She stumbled over her feet and fell back down. "Maybe not..." she mumbled.

"What do you want to do?" I asked, pulling her as close to me as I could. "You need me to carry you?"

"I just wanna sleep..."

It was probably a bad idea but I knew she was exhausted.

"Okay," I said, picking her up. "Go ahead and go to sleep..."

She wrapped her arms around my neck and rested her head against my chest, when I felt her body relax; I knew she'd finally fallen asleep.

**

When I got home, I laid Amber on my bed. She didn't wake up. I sat there for a moment, contemplating on what to do about what she was wearing. It wasn't a big deal, but she didn't seem comfortable in what she was wearing. "It's not like you haven't undressed her before." I muttered to myself.

I went to my drawer and pulled out an old jersey of mine and tossed it on the bed. I sat down next to her and eyed her outfit. Basic tank top and jeans. This should be a cinch... As it turned out, it wasn't as easy as I thought it'd be. My hands fumbled clumsily with the button of her jeans. I finally managed to unbutton them and started to pull them off. It was a struggle at first but after a little tug, they seemed to just slide off. As I pulled off the jeans, her underwear seemed to slide along with it but they didn't come off. They just rested on her hips... maybe a little lower than that. She was wearing silk bikini underwear. They only complimented her body more. I resisted the urge to reach down and run my hand across a patch of the silk.

_'Oh shit_,' I scolded myself. '_Stop_.'

I didn't know what to do. Should I pull them up some or let them rest there? After a moment of consideration and telling myself to grow up, I leaned over and rested my hands on her hips. It felt nice. My hands slid a little lower and I gently pulled them up...just a little.

Even though she still had the tank top on, I could see a bit of her stomach. It was a nice stomach. Flat but not *too* flat. It was something that I could rest my palm against while sleeping. I couldn't help but look at her legs next. She had to of been about 5'9. Her legs seemed endless. Her right leg was sort of thrown over the other and I resisted the urge to touch her thigh. Just to get a feel of her skin. It looked so deliciously smooth.

I shook off those thoughts and tried to tug her tank top off. It wouldn't budge, so I lifted her a little and tried again. She leaned against me, her head resting on my chest. The strap of her tank top fell from her shoulder and I could see a small freckle at the base of her shoulder. I pulled the tank top over her head and took in a deep breath. She wasn't wearing a bra. This time, I didn't even bother looking away. I had to look. I couldn't help but want to take in every inch of her. I was drowning in the sight of her. Her breasts were almost perfect. Perfectly rounded, perfectly sculpted. Just perfect. I'd been with a few girls before... and they'd all pretty much have the chest. It was what made them hot... or so I thought at that time. No, Amber didn't have big breasts, but hers seemed just right.

And when I was with those other girls, it had basically been about getting pleasure. Not giving pleasure, I really didn't care at the time about that. I knew that there wasn't really any emotion attached to it. But now it seemed different. At that moment, at that time, I felt like I would've given _anything_ to be able to touch her. To make her arch against me. I wanted to taste her, to lick that dip between her neck and shoulder and taste the sweetness of her skin. I realized that I still held her against me and everything started to stir inside of me. I reached over and grabbed the jersey, clumsily trying to put it on her. I wasn't sure what would've happened if I hadn't gotten it on sooner. Finally, after ignoring the ache inside, I pulled it over her head and laid her back on the bed, gently.

I watched her sleep for a bit, just watching some of her mannerisms as she slept... like the way her chest rose and fell as she breathed. The way her hair framed her face and how her eyelashes were so long and beautiful.

I looked at her legs again as she moved a little and turned to her side. The jersey had started to ride up a little, exposing a little bit of her ass. She had a _nice_ ass.

I fell back on the bed, making sure I didn't accidentally elbow her or something, and covered my face with my hands. Christ, I felt like a perv. Just watching her as she slept, looking at her the way I was.

I actually considered throwing a blanket over her but waved it off. It'd be fine. _I'd_ be fine.

Her foot brushed against my leg and I took in another sharp breath. There was just something so erotic about that. About her skin against mine. I looked over at her and pulled myself up a little more, so that my head was lying next to hers. By this time, she had turned over again, this time facing me and I put my arm around her waist, inching her closer.

She smelled like sweat and perfume. I couldn't help it, I leaned in and kissed the hollow of her neck, maybe my tongue flicked her skin. A low groan escaped her lips and it made me want her more. I kissed her neck once more, sucking just a little and then moved up, kissing her chin and finally finding her mouth. She tasted sweet. Suddenly, she was responding too. Her hands moved up and touched my face as her tongue pushed past my lips. I pulled away for a moment and looked at her... she was looking right back at me.

There's just something so great about that, you know? When you open your eyes while kissing someone and see that they're looking at you too. Almost like we didn't want to walk blindly into this, our eyes searching each others, looking at the beauty of it all...

This time, **she** leaned in and found my lips again. She ran her tongue across my lower lip and sort of pulled herself up, halfway on top of me. She moved her body a little, grinding her hips into mine and she ran her hands through my hair. My hands slid down to her thighs and up again, finding themselves under the jersey as lightly trailed over her back. She arched a little and pulled herself down a little, kissing my neck. I was really ready to lose myself in her. Ready to just kiss every freckle on her body.

"Leon..." she moaned against my neck.

I blinked and pushed her off of me. What the fuck was I thinking? What the hell was I doing? I knew she was still amped, and yet I was taking advantage of her?

"Leon?" Amber asked this time. I could see the confusion clouding her face as hurt found its way to her eyes.

I got up and moved back a little, shaking my head and trying to remind myself to breathe. "Not like this." I said. "Not now."

I ran my hands through my hair and left the room, slamming the door behind me. I felt like a bastard. I felt bad for taking advantage of her like that. Is this how Jason was to her? Was I really that much of a fucking asshole?

I threw myself on the couch and stared at the ceiling for a moment, trying to forget how her body fit against mine... the way we sank into each other.

I couldn't though. It was something that was completely impossible to forget.


	32. Chapter 30

I opened my eyes and found myself staring at the wall. I felt weird. I felt different. The bed shifted a little and I realized that I wasn't in my bed at home. I was at Leon's again.

_'Oh, fuck... what did I do now?'_

I didn't even want to _know_. I sat up and felt a dizzy spell hit me. I reached out and felt for some sort of support. I managed to make it to the bathroom. I stopped and looked into the mirror and frowned at how fucked up I looked. I looked at my neck and noticed a faint red spot resting on the dip of my neck.

"Oh my God," I breathed. "This did _not_ happen."

I shook my head clear and started to dig in the cabinets for a spare toothbrush. I found one and brushed my teeth. I looked at myself in the mirror again, trying hard to remember what exactly happened.

My fingers brushed against the hickey and I winced. I couldn't believe I let Jason do this to me. How fucked up had I been?

"Sorry about that." A voice said from behind me.

I turned around quickly and saw Leon leaning against the doorframe. I narrowed my eyes and tried to ignore how good he looked. Baggy sweats and a wife beater.

"Sorry about what?" I asked, moving my hand so it covered the hickey.

He moved in front of me and moved my hand. "That."

I laughed a little, "What? Why are you sorry? Jason is a real piece of work..."

"What's wrong?" I asked, noticing Leon frowning.

"Nothing." He said, walking to the door. "Glad to see you're okay."

"Leon?" I asked. " Leon? What's ---" and then it hit me.

"Oh my God!" I gasped. "You!" I touched the hickey. "You?"

"I don't know what you're talking about..." Leon shrugged and walked out.

"Oh my God!" I said again, following him out. "C'mon Leon... 'fess up."

"Did... did we do anything last night?" I asked him.

He didn't answer me.

"Okay, so you molest me and then you refuse to answer me? Yeah, that's balanced."

"I did not molest you!" He protested. "If anything, you, you know, molested **me!**"

"Oh you wish." I laughed, "So come on, be honest. How, uh, far did we go?"

"We didn't do anything." He said.

I remembered a little of the night before; the little things between Leon and me. It had been intense... but then he pulled away from me. I remembered that part clearly.

I looked at him and ignored his denial. "So," I asked, changing the subject. "Do you have any coffee?"

"Yeah," he said, following me to the kitchen. "Just made some."

"Perfect." I murmured and brushing past him.

I smoothed down my shirt and realized that I wasn't even in my own clothes. I was wearing a jersey; a number 8 **jersey.**

"Uh, Leon?" I looked up at him. "What the hell am I wearing?"

"Oh." Leon said, "I put that one you."

"Was this before or after you molested me?" I asked, cracking a smile. I loved watching him squirm. It was too cute. I think he even started to blush a little.

"I'm just kidding." I said, sitting down at the kitchen table.

Leon leaned against the counter, coffee cup in one hand and a newspaper in the other. I made invisible patterns on the table, trying to remember what exactly had happened the night before.

It was killing me. Sighing, I pushed myself away from the table and got up. I was sick of it. Sick of these circles he and I had been running around each other.

I walked to Leon and stood in front of him, kinda taking every piece of him in.

"What's wrong?" He asked, lowering the newspaper and looking at me.

"Nothing." I said quietly.

I moved in and touched his hair, smiling a little.

"Amber?" He asked, his voice growing rough.

I bit my bottom lip and felt my heart beating against my chest. I was nervous as hell, tempted on pulling back but I couldn't. I wouldn't.

"You sure?" Leon questioned. "Like this?"

I nodded slightly, letting the next words escape from my lips, "Now. Like this." And with that, I brushed my lips against his. I could sense him hesitating at one moment but in the end, he gave in. He kissed me back softly, his hands stroking my face.

He pulled back and his eyes searched mine. He was asking me if this is what I really wanted. He was asking himself if this was really the right thing. He took my hands in his and his lips trailed against my jaw. My eyes fluttered closed as I relaxed against his touch. Everything I wanted was right there in front of me.

"Please don't pull away..." I murmured against his lips.

He placed his hands on my back, moving us away from the kitchen and into the hall, a few doors away from his room.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked.

I nodded, my thoughts scattered. "Yeah. I... I don't think I've ever felt like this before."

"Never?" he asked.

I shook my head. "You're basically my first." I admitted.

"I thought you and Jason..."

I swallowed, "Yeah... but, uh, that was different. There weren't any feelings tied to it, you know?" I hated admitting that. It hurt to admit that.

He looked away from me and I could see his jaw clench. Shit, what did I do? He was going to push me away. I didn't think I could handle another rejection from Leon. I didn't think my heart could take it.

"C'mere." He said quietly, taking my hand in his own.

I realized that he was walking with me, still holding my hand... not grabbing it or tugging me along, but holding it and walking beside me. I liked that... a lot.

We walked into his room and suddenly, everything felt awkward. I stood there, my hands at my sides but I couldn't look at Leon. I started to pull up my shirt, my hands shaking a little and Leon put his hands over mine, stopping me.

I looked up at him, wondering what he was doing.

"No," He said, his voice a bit hoarse as he moved my hands away from the jersey. He pulled me closer and trailed kisses on my chin all the way down to my collarbone, lifting the jersey slowly upward. I tilted my head to the side, relaxing against his touch.

No one really ever touched me before. When I had been with Jason, either one or both of us had been amped and even then it was the drug that'd made everything better. Jason always seemed so clumsy and rough. The only pleasure I got out of sex with him was from the drugs. Jordan used to tease me, telling me how good of a lover Jason was. It was weird...I don't know if he was better with her because he loved her or if I was a frigid bitch but whatever it was, I didn't think I wanted to know the answer to it. What I did know was that I wanted something like Jordan had with Jason. I wanted a guy who put me before himself... someone who wouldn't treat me like I was some kind of sex toy.

I shivered a little at his touch. His fingers brushed across my stomach as he pulled the jersey up a little more. I shook away the thoughts and focused on what was happening now. Leon's eyes caught my own. I nodded slightly to him as he began to pull the jersey further, finally pulling it over my head and flinging it into the corner.

His breath caught in his throat as he looked at me. Something in his eyes had changed. There was softness in those green eyes. I could see a slight hint of lust gleaming there, too.

I moved back until I could feel the edge of the bed behind me. I sat down and scooted backwards, not taking my eyes off of Leon once. The plush of the pillows welcomed me as I lay my head down. The bed shifted under his weight as he moved towards me, his body lean and his movements like a panther.

I could feel Leon's breath beating against my stomach, and I shifted a little. Slowly, he started kissing his way up my body, his fingers lightly tracing my skin as they followed in a subtle torture... Every place he touched, my skin tingled, almost aching when he moved on. I wanted him to never stop touching me, but at the same time, I wanted something more... Finally, he softly kissed the valley between my breasts, breathing deeply as if he were trying to inhale the scent of my skin...as though **I** were a drug he couldn't get enough of. Leon pulled back, looked at me for a second like I was the most beautiful thing in the world, then leaned down to kiss my collarbone, his fingers tracing a feather-light pattern across my breast, drawing ever closer to my nipple. His mouth followed his fingers, until his tongue flicked against my nipple. Almost involuntarily, my back arched, and I sighed, running my hands down his back, wanting to feel him closer to me. As if he knew what I was thinking, his mouth closed around my nipple.

After a few minutes, I wanted nothing more than to kiss Leon, to taste his skin like he had tasted mine. Weakly, I tugged on his arms, trying to pull him up to my mouth. He looked up at me and grinned before following my unspoken suggestion, stopping to scatter kisses across my chest, my collarbone, my neck... Finally, his mouth landed on my own.

It was a passionate kiss, laced with want. Leon pulled back after a few minutes, sat up and took off his sweats. He leaned down to kiss my hip, and then sat back up to pull off his silk boxers as well. He was gorgeous...lithe and muscular... I sat up a little to watch him, reaching out a hand to trace the muscles of his belly. He leaned back down, kissing my hip again, and I could feel the warmth of his body against my thighs. Slowly, he pulled my underwear down, like he was testing himself to see how long he could draw the action out. He looked up at me, like he was checking to see if I was still okay with all of this. I lifted my hips slightly in agreement, and he pulled my underwear all the way off, tossing them into the corner. There was no barrier between us anymore, nothing to stop us. I smiled as I realized that this was actually going to happen. Leon and I were actually about to happen.

He just sat there and looked at me for a minute, until I was almost embarrassed by his scrutiny. He looked at me in a way no one else ever had...like he desperately wanted me and couldn't believe that I wanted him too. Slowly, he kneeled down, trailing kisses across my ankles and calves as he nudged my legs apart. His mouth moved its way up the inside of my thighs, stopping when he reached my warmth. I could feel his breath, hot against my skin, and I shuddered slightly in anticipation. He nuzzled his face against me, and I could feel the slight scruff of his goatee. Just when I thought I would go insane if he made me wait any longer, his tongue pushed its way between my folds. I groaned lowly, my hips pushing up against him. One of his hands moved under my ass, and he moved up my body a little, his tongue lightly flicking against my clit. Slowly increasing the speed and pressure of his tongue against me, his fingers pushed their way inside of me. I lowered my hands, desperate to touch him. Finally, as my fingers twirled in his hair, his mouth closed around my clit, sending shivers through my body. My hips pressed up against him even more, and the rhythm of his fingers increased.

"Leon..." I moaned, "I...I need..."

He seemed to understand what I wanted, even though I couldn't say it. He drew his fingers out of me, kissed my hipbone once, and then settled himself above me.

"You're so beautiful," he murmured before lightly kissing my neck and slipping inside me. He kissed me again, deeply, and then started a slow stroking rhythm within me.

I froze for a second before moving with him. My fingers grasped his shoulders and I rocked against him, kissing his chest, his neck, and his face...any part of his body my mouth could reach. He lightly ran his hands down my sides and back, and I could feel the shiver starting to rise inside me again. It was like I was on a new kind of drug...some sort of natural high. Leon dragged his tongue lightly over the base of my throat and a moan escaped my lips. His touch said everything as he ran his hands through my hair and caressed the side of my face. I arched my back, welcoming the feeling rising in the pit of my stomach.

"Amber..." Leon moaned against my lips.

Everything stilled at that moment. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me, savoring the feeling of his body against mine.

He looked at me and I kissed him fully on the mouth. Doing that was just about the simplest thing ever but at that moment, when he kissed me back, it was almost like another world had opened.


	33. Chapter 31

I woke up and found Amber still asleep. For a second, I froze in my spot.

_What the fuck had just happened?_

All sorts of feelings seemed to gather up into a ball and settle in the pit of my stomach.

**Was it a mistake?**

I liked Amber a lot, but how she really felt about me was the confusing thing. It had been obvious that she was lacking love in her life, lacking people who cared. So maybe, just maybe, what she showed towards me that morning had simply been out of need...out of wanting some sort of genuine affection in her life. Something to fill that empty space inside.

I looked at her again. ***Really*** looked at her and suddenly I hated myself for ever thinking that this had been a mistake. She looked so beautiful laying there; so calm. In a way, almost pure.

And all the anxiety that was buried into her features before, were gone.

I wrapped my arm around her waist and gently pulled her towards me. I caressed her arm with my fingers, just watching her react. Finally, her eyelids fluttered opened and she looked at me.

"Hey." She said her voice light.

"Hey." I replied back. "Sleep well?"

A smile formed on her lips as she stretched. "Mmhmm."

I couldn't help but notice the way the sheets clung to her body. With her arms lifted over her head as she stretched, they had started to fall a little.

But not enough.

"You?" She asked, curling next to me.

"Slept like a baby." I murmured.

"Good to hear."

"You know," I said after a moment of silence. "I was thinking..."

"Ooh." Amber smiled. "That can't be a good thing."

"Shut up." I laughed. "I was thinking that... I could take you out tonight or something."

She blinked. "Like a date?"

"Like a date." I confirmed.

"So, is that a yes?" I asked, not sure how to take her silence.

Her eyes narrowed and she looked at me again, finally nodding.

"Yeah," She smiled. "I'd... I'd like that. Thanks."

"So this is happening, right?" I asked aloud.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean this. Us." I gestured to her. "At first, I didn't know what was going on, what happened, but now, it's like everything's just a bit more clear, you know?"

"I don't know 'what we are', Leon." Amber smiled. "All I know is that I'm completely happy with where I am right now... I think maybe we should take it day by day, you know? Starting tonight when we go on this 'date'."

I nodded a little, feeling some tension ease from my shoulders.

"Where ya going?" I asked as Amber sat up, wrapping a sheet around her torso.

"I'm gonna hop in the shower." She said.

"Oh yeah?" I grinned.

She turned her head just then, looking over her bare shoulder and threw me a smile. The way her hair fell on her shoulders, the way her full lips turned into a smirk. "Uh huh."

"You know..." I said, sitting up. "Letty doesn't get out of school for another 3 hours..."

She laughed. "Really?"

"Yep..." I said, letting my fingers trace invisible patterns on her golden skin.

She took a sharp intake of breath. "Okay." She said, grabbing my other hand. "C'mon."

She pulled me up and then pulled me towards her, running her hands down my back as she kissed me.

Her lips swept across my jaw and then to my neck.

My mind was completely blank. All I could focus on was what was happening right then.

Everything I wanted was in my arms. The girl I absolutely adored. I mean, this was the person I could see in my life for a very long time.

There we were... walking blindly into the unknown. Not really knowing what to do or what to expect... taking everything day by day.

It was us.

Leon and Amber -- just two simple people.

No demands.

No expectations.

No regrets.


	34. Chapter 32

Amber had left about a half hour before Letty was supposed to be home for school, and I had a couple of hours to kill before we went out tonight, so I decided to start getting ready.

"Leon?" Letty called, closing the door behind her.

"Yeah?"

"Oh." Letty said, leaning against the doorframe. "You're still here?"

"Yeah."

"Hm." Letty frowned as she shrugged off her backpack. "So did you ever figure out what was wrong with that RX-7?"

"Huh?" I asked. "Oh. Uhm, no. I haven't been to the shop at all today."

"What? Damn, Leon. What have you been doing all day?" Letty asked, raising her eyebrows.

'_Having awesome sex…' _I wanted to say, but held back.

I chuckled a little to myself. "Kickin' back. I needed a day off..."

"Leon, you just had like, 2 days off. You _never_ take time away from the shop…" Letty said, her eyes narrowing.

"So how was school?" I asked abruptly, hoping she'd go into one of her rants instead of focusing on me.

"What're you so happy about?" Letty asked her voice suspicious.

"Huh? What makes you think I'm happy?" I looked at her.

"I don't know..." She tilted her head to the side, her eyes scrutinizing my face. "You have that look on your face; you know, you're stupid ass look where you're kinda smiling but not…"

"Oh yeah?" I asked, breaking into a grin.

"See!" Letty said, pointing at me. "Alright, what happened? Did you win the lottery or something?"

"Oh God, Let." I rolled my eyes. "No, I didn't win the lottery; and I don't have that 'stupid ass look' on my face. Can't I just be in a good mood for whatever reason?"

"You? No." Letty shook her head. "I mean, you're not like a grouchy person or anything, but you're never visibly _happy_ about things either…"

I didn't want to talk about this anymore. Letty was getting way too good at reading people. I grabbed the shaving cream off the counter and put some on my face, "You never answered my question about your day at school. How was it?" I asked, trying to be nonchalant.

"Oh you mean that shitty place I have to attend 5 days a week? Peachy." She smiled a little. "I don't understand why we even have to go above basic math. I mean – wait," she peered closer into the bathroom. "Are you... are you shaving?!" Letty took another step into the bathroom.

"Uh, yeah?" I nodded.

"Mia!" Letty called. "C'mere for a second..."

"Oh God..." I rolled my eyes. "Mia's here?"

"What's up?" Mia poked her head inside. "Oh."

"Yeah." Letty confirmed.

"Where are you going?" Mia asked, leaning against the doorframe. "You got a date or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I do..." I replied evenly.

I watched in the mirror's reflection as Letty and Mia exchanged a look.

"You're kidding, right?" Mia asked slowly.

"Uhm, no?"

Mia looked at Letty before resting her eyes back on me. She opened her mouth to say something, and then it was if she decided against it.

"Does Amber know about this?" Letty asked, raising her eyebrows.

"Yep." I sighed. "She knows."

"Jesus Leon!" Letty said, her voice getting loud. "I can't believe you're taking some random hood rat out. I mean, there is other options y'know."

"What?" I turned around and looked at them.

"Where'd you meet her anyway? At the shop?" Letty demanded.

"Yeah, I did actually..."

"That's just... just..." Mia stuttered. "Amber's gonna kick your ass."

"Oh yeah?" I turned around and looked at them. "And why's that?"

It was a rare occasion, but for the second time in one day Mia was at a loss for words. She threw a glance at Letty, "Because…"

"Because?" I raised my eyebrows, challenging her for a response.

"Because she just _is_ and you know _why_!" Mia glared.

I had all the intention on telling them about me and Amber, but they had to get nosy. There was nothing better then fucking with their minds, but I was starting to get distracted.

"Okay." I said, pushing them both towards the door. "Out."

"Oh come on, Leon!" Mia whined, her hands clutching the door knob. "Can't you just tell us _who_ it is?"

I scoffed, "No."

"Why not?" Letty frowned.

"Because it's none of your business." I snapped.

"Oh my God." Letty said, wide eyed. "It's not like, Mrs. Stanton, my English teacher is it?"

"What?" I blinked. "Who the hell is that?"

"My English teacher!" Letty said, shuddering. "Remember? You met her last month; you guys ended up talking about poetry or some shit..."

"The lady with the bottle cap glasses?" I asked, scrunching my nose. "The one who looks like she wears her window curtains as dresses? That's sick!" I pushed them out the door completely.

"Oh come on, Leon!" Mia moaned through the closed door.

**

_Stop existing and start __**living**_

-- **Unknown**

**

I was dressed and ready to go when I realized the light on my answering machine was blinking rapidly. Sighing, I walked over and pressed the 'play' button.

_'Hey, baby...'_ Jason's voice echoed throughout the apartment, his tone drowsy. _'Just seein' where you've been. It wasn't right the way you left me and Jordan at the club...'_ Silly me. For a moment I thought he had actually been concerned about my well being.

I pressed down on the erase button and went to the next message.

_'A, it's me...'_ Jordan's raspy voice took over. _'Just callin' about the party. I know it's gonna fuckin' rock, man. I heard there was gonna be some good shit there...'_

"God." I muttered, pressing the erase button again. I clenched my jaw and tried to push away the thoughts of calling either of them back. I knew that if I did I would end up doing more than just talking on the phone with them. I looked down at my hands and noticed that they were slightly shaky. I knew that my body was reminding me that it had been over a day since I had done anything. I had gone longer before, but more recent events changed that. With all the shit Leon and me had been through, I had been weak and fucked myself over by relying on it to make me happy.

I looked around and drew in a shaky breath. It was shocking that I didn't notice how my house seemed to change since I'd been away the past few days. It seemed colder... lonelier.

There was nothing to come back to. It felt totally unwelcoming.

I shrugged off the tension that was building on my shoulders and lay down on the couch, letting thoughts pass through my mind as I started to fall into a light sleep.

A knock at the door pulled me awake.

"Come in." I murmured, stretching out on the couch.

"Hey."

I turned to my side and saw Leon standing by the door way, his hands clasped together.

"Oh." I sat up. "Hey."

"You ready to go?" He asked, taking a step closer.

"Yeah." I stood up, smoothing out my hair. "Yeah, I'm ready."

"Good." He smiled. "You look good."

I blinked and smiled back, really taking notice of how he was looking. Dressed casually, his hair was a little shorter and spiked a little. For some reason, his eyes looked greener than before.

"Same goes for you." I murmured, grabbing my purse.

***

When we got to the car, Leon opened the door for me; Something I wasn't accustomed to.

"So what are we gonna do, anyway?" I asked when he got in the car.

"You're not a huge fan of surprises are you?" Leon asked.

"Hell no," I admitted, "I'm a nosy person...can't help it. So?"

"I'm not saying..." He said.

"Aw, come on..."

"Bowling." He said.

I snorted, "Bowling?" I asked.

He looked at me and nodded, "Yeah. What's wrong? You've never been bowling?"

"I've been bowling..." I hesitated, "Hasn't everyone?"

"Good," He smiled.

I was relieved to hear that we were going bowling. I was always happy with hanging out at small diners or renting movies. Something casual. Something normal. Of course, people considered that type of shit boring.

The bowling alley wasn't even really packed. It must've been 'glow in the dark night' or something because I couldn't really see anything but the lanes. "Hey Bernie," Leon said to the guy behind the counter.

"Heya Leon," The older man said, grinning, "How's it goin'? How's the business?"

"Goin' well," Leon nodded, "Business is running pretty smooth."

"Good... Good. Who would be this pretty young lady with you?" Bernie threw a gap-toothed smile my way.

"Oh," Leon said, "Amber this is Bernie. Bernie, this is my girl Amber."

I knew I was smiling bigger then usual when he said that.

"Hi," I said, shaking Bernie's hand.

"She sure does have a smile on her." Bernie noted, shaking my hand.

"She does." Leon said, looking at me.

"So a size 11 and a 1/2 for you," Bernie said nodding to Leon, "And for you honey?"

"7 and a 1/2," I told him.

He handed us two pairs of tacky bowling shoes and told us our lane number.

Leon's hand found my waist again and we walked to our lane.

"Those shoes compliment you well," I told Leon.

"You kidding me? They're tacky." He laughed.

"My thoughts exactly," I grinned.

He nudged me on my side, "Just for that I'm going to have to kick your ass in bowling, you know..."

"We'll see," I noted, "So shouldn't we find some bowling balls or something?"

"Good plan," He said, "Come on." He held out his hands. I took them and he pulled me up and led me to where all the bowling balls were.

I must have stood there for what seemed like hours looking for a damn bowling ball. I couldn't tell what the hell the differences between them all were. I just wanted one with a cool color...

"Here, how about this one?" Leon asked, holding one up for me.

"Leon," I said, my eyebrows raised, "That's pink."

"Yeah...and it's a bowling ball," He nodded as if he didn't get it.

"It's pink _with_ swirls." I added.

"It's light." He retorted.

"But...it's pink." I told him again, like it made a difference or something.

"How about that one?" I pointed to the midnight blue one.

He leaned over and picked it up, "Damn!" He said, "It's like 12 pounds..."

_It was still a pretty color..._

"That's the one then," I said, reaching over and grabbing it.

Luckily he had already turned around when I grabbed the ball, so he didn't see me struggle to hold onto it. The thing weighed a friggan ton.

"K," Leon said, turning back around after putting the information into the computer thing, "You ready?"

"Yeah," I said, trying to look normal as I held the ball with both my hands.

I could see he knew I was having problems with the ball already but he was choking back a laugh, "Are you okay with that ball?" He asked.

"Yeah," I nodded, walking to the lane, "I got it."

"Good, 'cause you're up." He said, sitting back down.

My arms were _already_ going numb from the stupid thing.

"Okay," I swallowed, struggling to hold the ball right.

I heard Leon laughing behind me, "Are you sure you don't want a different one?" He asked.

"I'm...sure." I reassured him.

"Here," He stood up, "let me help you."

"Nah," I told him, "I got it."

"I'm sure you do," He smiled.

"I do," I insisted, "You better watch it."

I put my fingers in the holes.

"Yeah?" He said, "Your not gonna drop the ball are you?"

"I might," I muttered, dropping my arm so I only held the ball with one hand now.

"This is going to be fun to watch..." Leon laughed.

"I'm telling you, man," I laughed, "I wouldn't be behind me right now if I were you,"

I swung my arm back and I felt the ball slide off of my fingers and behind me.

"Oh shit!" I heard Leon say.

"Oops!" I said, turning around to make sure I hadn't taken off anyone's head. Leon was standing a few feet behind me and the ball was a few inches in front of him.

"Oh shit! I'm sorry." I said, rushing over to make sure he was okay.

"That..." Leon said, looking at the ball and then at me, "was close."

"Yeah," I said slowly, "You know...I think I need another ball..."

He didn't say anything; he just gave me this 'Ya think?' look.

"I thought you said you knew how to bowl?" Leon asked.

"Um, no." I shook my head. "I said _I've been bowling before_." I told him.

Leon laughed, "Well, let's just get you another ball -- a lighter ball -- and see how you do then.." He advised.

"Good call," I replied.

Leon picked out a ball for me this time and I swear he went through like twenty of them. It was funny watching his face as he picked them all up...almost as if he were considering which one would cause less damage.

"Okay," He said, "try this one out."

I held the ball and it was way lighter, I could actually hang onto this one.

"Work for you?" He asked.

"Yeah." I said.

"You sure?" He asked.

"Yeah," I nodded. I slid my fingers in the holes and drew my arm back. Leon jumped back and held his hands up in front of him. "I actually have a grip on this one." I smiled.

He took a deep breath and nodded, "Okay...'cause I figured that a 5 pound one would be easier on you...the grip _should_ be a lot more firm..."

Okay, suddenly I was seeing Leon: Undercover Professional Bowler.

"You know a lot about bowling." I noted.

"Not really, I only bowl occasionally." He replied.

"Sure," I nodded, "I bet you're all focused and stuff when you bowl."

"Me?" He asked, smiling, "Nah."

When he went for his turn to bowl, I saw it again: Leon the bowler. The way he held the ball was wild. He held it close almost like he was getting acquainted with it or something. The look on his face was too funny, all concentrated and shit; and his stance... I couldn't even describe it.

I held back a laugh as he rolled a strike. He grinned and looked at me, like he was proud of himself.

"Your go," He said.

"This should be fun," I muttered.

I walked up to the line and just let the ball go. It didn't go very far. It kind of drifted to the left and into the gutter. I _sucked_.

"I suck," I said out loud, turning to Leon.

He tried to suppress a smile, I could tell. "Okay, let me help."

I didn't protest. I figured it would be easier if he could help me out a little bit. Of course, I didn't really care much about bowling, wasn't like they had Olympics for this shit or anything...or did they? I really wanted to ask Leon if he was a gold medalist for that but I stopped myself and just nodded at him.

I grabbed my ball and turned back to the lane, ready to learn.

Leon pressed himself against me. His arms slipped under mine and he took the hand I held the ball in.

His fingers rested on my wrist as he turned it a little, "Okay," He said, "You gotta make sure your wrist is at an angle, so you know which way you want the ball to go."

His other hand slid down and rested on my hip as we walked forward, "and then you want to make sure your standing a little off center, so the ball can curve."

I could only nod a response.

"And then," He pulled my arm forward so we both could see the ball in front of me, "you see those arrows right there?" He nodded to the lane, "You need to kinda go along with those. They're kinda like directions."

I didn't see any arrows. I didn't see anything. I just wanted to _melt_ on the spot or something.

"Here is the important part," He said, bringing my hand down, "When you're about to release the ball, let it go slowly so it kinda glides. That way you're keeping your stance."

"Gotcha," I somehow managed to say and I pulled the ball forward, letting it go.

Well, his lesson kind of worked. I managed to get 7 out of 10 pins down. I grinned when I saw the pins go down and I turned around only to be enveloped in a hug.

"See, wasn't so hard now was it?" Leon said in my ear.

If he only knew...


	35. Chapter 33

"Okay, go ahead..." I sighed, getting in the car. "Say it."

"Say what?" He asked, looking at me.

"Go ahead and **brag** that you beat me in bowling." I said, scrunching my nose.

"It was just a game." Leon shrugged. "No biggie."

"C'mon." I insisted. "You know you want to..."

He shook his head and laughed softly.

"Okay... fine..." I shrugged. "Keep it bottled up..."

"Okay, okay." Leon laughed. "**I** kicked **your** _ass_ in bowling."

I rolled my eyes and smiled. "I knew you wanted to say that."

"Sorry." He grinned sheepishly.

"It's all good. I'm gonna kick your ass in something one of these days. Watch."

"I'd like to see that..." He smirked.

****

We ended up going to this diner across town. It was small but cozy. It was pretty empty for a Thursday night. We slid into a corner booth and Leon sat across from me.

"So what're you thinking about?" I asked Leon.

"Us."

"Yeah?" I smiled a little. "What'd you come up with?"

"I'm, uh, thinking about how much I like you..." He said softly.

My smile only grew bigger but started to falter as he continued.

"... and that scares me."

"What?" I frowned. "Why?"

"I don't want to get hurt." He shrugged as if what he had just said wasn't a big deal.

"Leon." I said softly. "I would _never_ hurt you."

I realized I knew nothing of Leon's past, really. I never knew of his ex girlfriends or what happened in his past relationships.

"I've..." He stopped himself, taking in a huge breath before continuing. "I've seen you in a different state… I've seen what drugs do to you and your reactions…"

I looked down, trying not to show the hurt I was feeling. I knew that there would always be a constant reminder of Leon seeing me in _that_ state. I stopped breathing for a second and managed to push back the shock of what he'd just said. I realized that he was holding both of my hands. I tried to pull my hands away from his but he wouldn't let go so I looked away instead.

"Amber? Look at me. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

I blinked. "I'm not on that stuff anymore, Leon. You know that..."

"I know." He said his voice sort of rough. "I _know _but I just want to hear you say that you're done with it, you know? That you're giving it up."

"I'm done with them." I shrugged, "C'mon, Leon, give me some credit here okay? I know that it was a bad decision to even start. I was stupid…"

"Yeah, it was a bad decision, but that doesn't mean you're stupid. Look, I'm not going to get sanctimonious on you. No one's perfect. I mean... I've had some bad history with drugs..."

I looked at him then. I never figured Leon the type to have used drugs at anytime in his life. Ever.

"Not that I've done any hard drugs. I have smoked pot before though, way back in high school -- Anyway... I knew a guy -- a great guy -- who used drugs and OD'd from them."

I winced. "I'm sorry..."

"His name was Ricky. He was kinda the 'All American kid.' I mean, this was the guy every parent wanted their kids to be like, you know? Anyway, no one really suspected that Ricky used. He was so good at hiding it or something; especially from me because we used to hang out everyday and I couldn't see it for nothing. The day after Christmas, I got a phone call from his mom... Ricky had a stroke or something earlier that morning." His voice sort of cracked just then. "They found the drugs in his system. Do you know how I felt after hearing that? How long I felt so fucked up for not knowing that my best friend was using? Too long. It replayed in my head -- I should've known. I should've seen the signs or something. I eventually realized that I couldn't have done anything, you know? Even if I had known, Ricky was hard headed. He wouldn't have let me tell him otherwise. Still, I already lost one person I cared about to that stupid shit; I don't wanna lose another…"

I feel the tears flowing hotly down my cheeks. "Oh God..." I choked out. "You're right... you're totally right..." I was off them. Done. Period. Honestly, before there hadn't really been a guarantee that I would've stayed off them. I had a thirst for weakness... I had no willpower at times and I knew that if I'd started to crave the drugs again, I would've gone back. I slid out of the booth and moved next to Leon.

"I'm sorry." I said, wrapping my arm around his shoulder and burying my head in his neck. "If you can promise to help me when I feel the craving to relapse, I can promise I'm done, okay?"

I looked up at him and kissed the corner of his mouth. "Hey." I murmured, placing my hands on his face. "I don't want to hurt you or myself. I don't want to **lose** you."

I closed my eyes and kissed him softly on the mouth -- tasting tears on my lips; Leon's tears. It's strange -- the feeling that you get when you realize that someone is crying over the fear of losing you -- tasting their tears on your own lips. It makes you feel horrible and wonderful all at once. Horrible because you really don't want to see them cry -- not over something you could help, anyway but just knowing that you're something to someone... that's the most wonderful feeling in the world.


	36. Chapter 34

"So what're you going to be up to tomorrow?"

"I dunno." I shrugged, "Probably stop by the shop, make sure things are going all right there. You should stop by."

Amber smiled at me. "Maybe."

We we're sitting in the car in front of her place. It was getting late and I knew she had to be up early.

"Hey." I said, looking at her.

"Yeah?" She asked, looking confused.

"Thanks." I said quietly.

She looked over at me and smiled a little. "For what?"

"Tonight -- everything... I don't know. Just... thanks."

I never was the one for words. I didn't expect to blurt that out but looking at her, I couldn't help but say it.

"Any time." Amber said softly. She slid over and leaned against me. I wrapped my arms around her waist and kissed the top of her head.

"This is what I love right here." Amber sighed.

I snorted, "Chillin' in the car?"

She laughed. "With you? Yeah. But that's not what I meant exactly; it's kinda calm, you know? I don't know why, but even if we aren't even talking, I'm still so comfortable around you."

"Yeah." I said quietly. "I know exactly what you mean."

"Okay nerd boy." She sat up. "I gotta go. I gotta get _some_ kind of rest before I fall over or something."

"Ah." I snorted. "Who needs rest?"

"I do." She smiled. "I'll talk to you later, then?"

I nodded, "Of course."

"'Kay." She leaned in to kiss me.

"Hey." I pulled back. "Now I don't know what kind of guy you think I am but I don't put out on the first date."

Amber snorted and smacked my arm lightly. "You're such a tease."

"Nah." I smirked. "I'm just a good guy..."

"Yeah, whatever." She laughed. "Fine, If it's like that..."

I grabbed her arm before she got out of the car and pulled her towards me.

"Okay." I said, my lips brushing hers. "I lied."

She smiled and kissed me softly.

"Let me walk you to the door." I suggested.

"Leon." Amber rolled her eyes. "You **are** a good guy but man; you aren't **that** good of a guy. You really don't need to anyway..."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "Goodnight."

I lifted her palm to my lips and kissed it softly. "Night."


	37. Chapter 35

"You suck..." A voice said in my ear.

I turned over to pull the comforter over my head. "Go away," I murmured.

The bed shifted and I could feel a body settle next to me, "Go figure you would wake up to that line. A few minutes ago I told you I was naked and you didn't budge."

"Girl," I yawned and threw a sleepy glance over at the clock. "What're you doing here? It's 9 am."

"Yep..." Amber snuggled next to me.

"Leon!"

"What? What? What?" I opened my eyes, alarmed.

"First off, you snore, **loudly.** Second, I was talking to you." Amber smacked my arm.

"Oh." I laughed quietly. "Sorry... so what could you possibly want at 9 am?"

My mind started wandering after I said those words. Suddenly, I found myself very awake. "Is that really where your mind is right now?" Amber rolled her eyes. "What if I said that I just wanted the pleasure of your company?"

"Well." I stretched. "I guess I should say that I'm not very good company at 9 am."

"Well," She sat up. "To tell you the truth, I just came by to grab a few of my things that I left over here yesterday. I figured I would bug you in the process."

"Oh." I turned to face her. "So that's it, huh?"

"God, Leon!" She busted out laughing. "You're such a guy..."

"... and it took you **what** to figure that part out?" I gave her a devilish smile.

"Don't make me list it off." She scooted off the bed and picked up a few things off the floor. "Messy, too..."

"Hey." I protested. "It's not that bad in here."

Amber rolled her eyes. "Whatever you say…"

"So," I said after a moment. "Everyone else here?"

"Last I heard, Letty was in the shower, Mia was in the kitchen and Dom answered the door."

"More of a reason for me to stay in bed." I sank deeper under the sheets.

"Okay..." Amber said. "What if I..."

I looked at her.

"... made you breakfast?"

"Girl, you serious?" I asked.

"Yeah. C'mon, get up. I'll cook something for you."

"What?" She asked when I just sat there looking at her.

I looked down at the blankets and then back up at her.

"What? You sleep naked or something?" Amber raised an eyebrow.

"Not necessarily..." I shrugged.

She smirked a little and walked to the door, mumbling. "I still can't believe you're being so modest after... Okay." She turned around and looked at me. "I'm giving you 5 minutes. If you're not up and out of here by then, I'm coming in and I don't care how naked or..." she flicked her eyes downward for a second. "How happy you are."

And with that, she winked at me and walked out the door.


	38. Chapter 36

I walked into the kitchen and found Dom, Letty and Mia sitting around the table.

"Hey Am," Dom said, flipping through a newspaper.

"Hey guys." I opened the 'fridge door, searching for something to make.

"What're you doing here so early?" Letty asked.

"I left a few things over here yesterday." I said. "Just came by to pick them up."

"Oh!" Letty sat up straighter in her chair. "I didn't know you stopped by yesterday..."

"Yeah." I said coolly. "Had to talk to Leon about the car and stuff..."

"Oh yeah?" Dom's low voice crept its way into the conversation. "How's that goin'?"

"Good." I nodded. "I guess."

I pulled out some eggs and butter and set them on the counter.

"Hey, Leon." Everyone muttered when he finally entered the kitchen. He threw me a smirk and muttered hello's back.

"Jesus, is everyone and their mothers here?" He asked.

"Oh, Amber." Mia tore herself away from the Cosmopolitan magazine she'd been reading. "Where were you last night?"

I stopped cracking the eggs. Leon didn't tell them anything? Nothing about what'd happened and that we went out? I laughed quietly to myself. I could just imagine Mia harassing him about going out on a date and he'd probably told them he was going out... just not with me.

Just to spite them.

"What?" I looked up.

"I tried calling you last night and you didn't answer..." Mia continued.

"Oh." I said. "That's 'cause, uhm, I went grocery shopping..."

"For, like, 5 hours?" Mia asked.

"... and then I went to this party."

"Oh!" Mia grinned. "Whose??"

"My cousin Sheila." I said quickly.

"I thought you didn't have any family in LA." Letty said.

"... My very distant cousin Sheila. She's like a 3rd cousin or something." I said, mentally smacking myself.

"Were there any cute guys there?" She grinned.

I pretended to think about it for a moment. "Oh, yeah." I smirked. "There were a few…" I knew that would make Leon a little uneasy... hell, he deserved it. "So why'd you call?"

"A new club is opening this week. I wanted to see if you wanted to go sometime soon to check it out. You know, there could be cute guys there..."

"Count me in!" I said quickly. A little too quickly because Leon walked past me and 'accidently' elbowed me.

"So, Leon." Dom spoke up again. "How's it going repairing the Honda?"

"Alright." Leon nodded, sipping his coffee.

"So did you guys come up with a plan on how to get it fixed faster?"

"Huh? Who?" Leon frowned.

"Us." I said slowly. "Uh, hello? We just talked about it yesterday, you know..."

"Oh." Leon nodded. "Oh! Right. Yeah, we figured a few things out."

"So what's the plan? Which part is it that needs to be fixed?" Letty asked.

"The driveshaft." Leon said.

"Engine block." I said at the same time.

I glared at Leon and he rolled his eyes at me. We both turned back to the rest of the crew, who stared back at us, confused looks on their faces.

"It's the driveshaft." Leon said, nodding.

"Right." I laughed nervously. "You know me, I'm not the mechanic here. I mean, I can't tell one part from another."

"Uh huh." Dom said slowly, getting up. "Well I'm heading out. Let me know if you need help on that, uh, driveshaft."

"Ditto that." Letty said. "See ya at the shop, Leon. Talk to you later, Amber."

"Bye." I smiled and went back to cracking the eggs.

"Well..." Mia drew out slowly. "I have some work to do; homework this week is to write some poetry. Is that lame or what?"

"Sounds exciting." I murmured.

"I'm sure." Mia snorted. "Excuse me while I go jump out of a moving vehicle."

"Talk to you later, Mia." I laughed.

"Bye guys." Mia said, standing up.

As soon as she was out of earshot, Leon turned to me, "Engine block?"

"Hey." I shrugged. "It was, like, the only thing I could think of. Besides, _you_ were the one who told me it was the cracked engine head in the first place!"

"Oh." Leon said. "well, that's not exactly the engine..."

"And _I'm_ supposed to know _that_?" I asked.

"That's true." He nodded.

"Damn right." I grinned. "It doesn't matter, anyway. I just told them that we met up yesterday and _discussed_ the car trouble and all..."

"Discussed, huh?" Leon said, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

"**Yes** -- discussed."

"That's funny, 'cause I don't remember a lot of talking going on. In fact, I **do** remember you moanin--"

My hand covered his mouth instantly. "Oh shut up!" I blushed.

As a small reassurance that he was only teasing, Leon kissed the inside of my palm.

"So." I sighed, moving my hand. "Are we ever going to tell them?"

"Well yeah," Leon leaned against the counter and looked at me. "Of course."

"Oh yeah? When?"

"Soon."

"Soon." I said slowly.

"Mia would flip out if she found out about us... in a good way." He added. "I just want to make her squirm a little, you know? I mean, look at her now. She's itching to say _something _to you about my taking someone else out last night."

I smirked. "Mia's just..."

"Nosy?"

"Enthusiastic."

"Enthusiastic." Leon nodded. "Yeah, okay."

"...Okay," I said slowly. "Enthusiastic is a bit of a stretch..."

He snorted.

"But really, all she wants is..." I paused, trying to find the right words.

"Control over everyone else's love life?" He finished.

I laughed a little as Leon moved behind me, wrapping his arms around my waist.

"Something like that..." I said quietly.

"So whatcha making anyway?" Leon asked, kissing my cheek.

"Omelet's."

"Oh yeah? And do omelets usually have, uh, egg shells in them?"

"Well," I turned around to face him. "I never said I was Julia Child."

"It's okay." Leon kissed my forehead. "I wasn't really hungry anyway."

"Good." I smiled. "'Cause I really have to go to work."

"How's the car working for you?"

"Good." I nodded. "I can actually shift without grinding the gears now."

"That's my girl." Leon laughed lowly.

"But there's still the problem of hitting things..." I coughed.

"Wait. What??"

"Well ***small*** things..."

"Like what, exactly?" Leon asked.

"You know, _small_ things...curbs, trash cans..._children_..." I mumbled.

He just looked at me.

"I'm totally kidding about the children thing." I added with a small smile.

"Yeah well, somehow it wouldn't surprise me if you _weren't_ kidding..." Leon sighed.


	39. Chapter 37

I went to the shop as soon as Amber had left for work. I figured I could get some work finished before the weekend set in. Letty had ran off to somewhere with Mia, so Dom and I sat around the shop, joking around about the piece of shit cars that were constantly being brought to us.

"I'll never understand how someone can really fuck up a transmission on a Camaro." Dom muttered.

"I hear ya, dawg." I agreed. "Some people are just dumbasses..."

"Hey, guys..."

Dom and I both turned around to see Jimmy, a regular of ours, walking into the garage. He was a short, chubby guy who was starting to lose the hair that was on the top of his head. He was a cool guy, though... kept us in business. He ran a shop of his own but it was nothing like ours. He didn't really do all the shit we did. He was more of a general guy; if the problem wasn't flat out obvious, he couldn't help you. This is why he always brought business to us.

"Hey, Jimmy. What's up, dawg?" I grinned.

"Not much, man. Hey, how long d'ya think it'd be if I brought in a few cars?"

"How many?" Dom asked.

"About 5."

"That depends." I shrugged. "What's the problems?"

"A few transmission problems and some I can't figure out..." Benny said.

"I dunno," I said, calculating how many cars we had as it was. "It'll probably take a little over a week to get them all fixed."

"Sounds good to me." Jimmy shrugged.

"Where are they at now?" Dom asked.

"I have some of the crew bringing them over. In fact, they should be here any second."

A few minutes later, Jimmy's men arrived with the 5 cars in tow. I surveyed the cars, trying to see if I could get a good idea on what was wrong with them.

"Hey, Jimmy. What d'ya do with all these cars anyway?" I asked curiously.

"Well," He sighed. "Most of the cars I bring to you guys are ones that people leave at my place. They never want to pay for repairs or anything. After you guys fix 'em, I usually send them to a place to get auctioned off, you know? Figure I could make a few bucks off of people being so fucking moronic."

"Really?" I asked, looking over the cars again.

One of the cars was a Black Honda Civic EX Coupe. Almost brand new. Couldn't have been more than 2 years old. Whoever had owned this car had managed to dent in the front and rear bumper pretty badly. The paint was still good on it though.

Almost perfect.

"Do you know what's wrong with this one right here?" I asked, nodding towards the Honda.

"Beats me." Jimmy grunted. "Minor shit, though... besides the obvious dents, I mean. From what I know, the transmission sticks and the clutch is too loose. I think that's about it."

I nodded slightly and looked over at Dom. He stared back at me with a strange look on his face. Like I'd suddenly declared my love for Broadway or something... he didn't say anything, though. He just stood back and threw glances between me and Jimmy.

"Jimmy, can I, uh, talk to you in the office?" I asked.

"Sure." Jimmy nodded.

"I'll be back." I said to Dom.

He only grunted a response.


	40. Chapter 38

"Thanks again, Jimmy." I said, tucking the papers in my back pocket.

"Nah, man. Thank **you.**" Jimmy grinned. He nodded to Dom before heading out.

"What was **that** about?" Dom asked.

"What?" I asked, picking up a wrench.

"**That.**" He nodded towards the office. "What're you up to, anyway?"

"Nothin'." I shrugged. "I just took care of some business..."

"Uh huh..." Dom said slowly. "And the business would be...?"

"I bought the Honda Civic..." I said quickly.

"You _what_?!" Dom asked, frowning.

"Yeah, I bought it, alright?" I said, running my hands through my hair.

"With what money? If you don't mind me asking." Dom asked.

"I gave Jimmy a deal. I would only charge him for 2 out of the 4 remaining cars and I gave him 2 grand in cash."

Dom shook his head. "Damn, Leon. I knew you liked Hondas and shit but now, why would you do something like that?"

"'Cause the car isn't for me." I said. I left it at that, as if that explained everything.

"What? Then who -- oh..." He said slowly. "So, it's for..."

"Yeah." I admitted. "It's for Amber, alright? The girl needs a new car and well..."

"Uh huh..." Dom nodded, smiling a little "And do you do this for _all_ the customers who look good in skirts or..."

"No." I laughed. "Just for the ones who I actually sorta care about."

"So then, there **is** something goin' on with you two?" Dom raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah." I admitted. "I mean, it happened _literally_ a few nights ago, but there was always something there..."

"Yeah? Well congratulations, man." Dom nodded.

"You don't sound too surprised there..."

"Why should I be?" He shrugged. "Shit. It's about fuckin' time, man. You two were driving me crazy with your 'Will they? Won't they?' drama. I actually felt like I was on Days of Our Lives for a second there."

"Yeah, whatever dawg." I laughed.

"And I won't even tell you how fucking happy I am that I'm not gonna have to deal with Mia's nagging! You should've heard her and Letty -- bitching about you taking some random girl out. I swear, I took so many aspirin the other day, I was seriously considering investing in Advil."


	41. Chapter 39

Dom and I had practically worked nonstop all day with the cars. It was weird. Almost as if I were suddenly motivated to work and get shit straightened out. I couldn't really afford to lose the business.

It was quiet around the shop most of the day. After a whole hour of arguing with Dom over what car should come first, he'd reassured me that it was okay if I started on Amber's car and he would start on the others.

I was pretty much finished with the minor engine work when Letty had returned to the garage around 3 o' clock, ready to work.

"Hey, brat." I said, not bothering to look up from under the Honda's hood.

"Hey jackass." Letty retorted. I could tell she was grinning, though.

It got pretty much quiet after that. After another hour of working on the Honda, I decided to get up and grab a beer. I didn't realize that I was so into the car that I was practically oblivious to everything else around me. I mean, I'd practically forgotten that Letty and Dom were even there. **They** hadn't forgotten that they were both there, though. Letty and Dom were joking around. Letty smacked Dom's arm as he gently pulled her ponytail. I looked back and forth between the two and shook my head.

_'No way.'_ I told myself. _'Letty and Dom? Couldn't be...'_

I had known that Letty harbored a crush on Dom for years... I mean, _that_ was always obvious. The way she looked at him and shit. The admiration **always** showed on her face. I had started to shrug it off until I stopped looking at Letty and looked at Dom.

Dom was grinning like an idiot and not in an _'I'm a scary clown'_ type of way, either. It was an actual fucking grin. Granted Dom smiles a lot and shit... but not like this.

_'Fuckin' A...'_ I shook my head. _'Cupid's on a fucking roll...'_


	42. Chapter 40

Business ended up picking up in the shop. In the next two days, we'd gotten 5 more cars. Dom, Letty and I had practically spent every waking moment in the garage. Mia was helping out, too; sorting out the paperwork, taking all the calls and making sure that we didn't mix anything up. Letty offered to take on 2 cars, Dom ended up taking 3 and I took on the rest with Mia's help.

I never figured her to really know anything about cars but when it came down to it, she knew more then I'd thought she did. After working practically a week and a half straight, I decided to close the shop for one day, knowing that the crew would be grateful for the short break.

"Hey, where's Amber been?" Mia looked over at me curiously.

"I think she's been pretty busy with work." I said.

I hadn't really spoken to Amber since the week before. I knew that she'd missed a few days of work, so I assumed that she was busy catching up with it just like I was. I missed her, though. She hadn't come around all week and I hadn't had the chance to call her.

"Hmm." Mia frowned. "You know, I tried to call her at work today and they said she went home early, said she hadn't been feeling too well or something."

"What?" I asked. "Did you try calling her at home?"

"Yeah," She sighed. "I got the answering machine..."

Something didn't sound right.

"I'll be back." I said, getting up.

"What?" Mia asked. "Where are you going?"

"I'm... I'll be right back." I said, assuring her.

I grabbed the keys off of the counter and headed over to Amber's place.

*****

The lights were on at her place but no one answered the door. I must've knocked a dozen times. I had tried to open it, but it was locked.

"Amber?" I knocked again.

Finally, after 10 minutes of knocking, the door opened.

"Hey," She said quietly.

"Hey." I looked at her. "You okay?"

"Yeah..." She said, moving aside to let me in. "uh huh."

"Oh." I said, walking in. "Mia said that she'd heard that you weren't feeling well... so I thought I'd check up on you."

"I'm fine, Leon." She smiled faintly. "I've just been having trouble sleeping."

"C'mere..." I said, pulling her towards me. "Sorry I haven't called. We were slammed at the shop for awhile..."

"It's okay." She said, resting her head against my chest. "I've been pretty busy, too."

I pulled her closer to me and kissed the top of her head. "C'mon, let's get your stuff..."

"What?" Amber looked up at me. "Why?"

"'Cause you're going to stay with me for a few days, that's why."

"Leon, no, that's not necessary..."

I wasn't listening, though. I'd already started walking towards the hallway to get to her room.

"Look, I'm fine." Amber said, following me. "I've just been feeling a little squeamish..."

I went straight for her drawers, grabbing any and every thing I could find.

"Leon..." Amber tried again.

"Look." I said, looking at her. "I don't want you here by yourself, alright?"

"But..."

"I'm not taking 'no' for an answer..."

"But I'm..."

"Girl, am I gonna have to throw you over my shoulder or something?" I asked, raising my eyebrows.

"Could you get any more barbaric?" Amber asked.

"Could you get any more stubborn?" I shot back.

"Whatever..." She said, rolling her eyes.

"Was that our first fight?" I asked, grinning. "That was our first fight!"

"Shut up, Leon." Amber smirked.

"Well, I got all your stuff packed right here. Look, I'm not taking no for an answer, alright? I already told you that..."

"I feel like shit, Leon." Amber sighed. "I don't want to go over there looking like **this**"

"You look fine." I reassured her. "C'mon... let's go."

**

"Hey, Mia." I said reluctantly as I walked into the house.

"Hey!" Mia sat up. "You okay? You look a little pale..."

"Thanks." I said, dryly.

I looked over at Leon and raised my eyebrows; He just shrugged helplessly.

"I mean..." Mia stammered. "It's just..."

"I've just been feeling out of it lately." I said.

"Oh, well, you haven't been overworking yourself lately, have you?" Mia asked, frowning.

"I think it's the flu or something." I sighed and sat down. "It's no biggie."

"Oh." Mia said, darting a glance at Leon.

"I tried telling **him** that," I said, nodding towards Leon. "But he insisted that I come over here for awhile."

"I just wanted to make sure that you didn't choke on your own vomit." Leon said lightly.

"Oh, gee, how **sweet** of you." I glared at him. "Thanks for caring. I appreciate it. Oh, and for your information, I haven't thrown up yet so it probably isn't the flu --" My stomach began to jump. "Oh, God."

"Amber are you okay?" Mia asked, touching my shoulder.

I jumped up from my seat, shoved past Leon and ran straight to the bathroom.

**

"What was that about?" I asked, trying to wrap my head around what had just happened.

"She's throwing up." Mia said.

"Well, I figured that part out." I said, sitting down. "She said she's been feeling nauseous lately."

"Hmm."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked, looking at Mia.

"What's what supposed to mean?" She asked.

"You just said 'hmm.' What is that supposed to mean?" I asked again.

"Oh." Mia shook her head. "Nothing..."

I could practically see the wheels turning in her head.

"Mia..." I started.

"Well." She sat up a little. "What if... Nah..."

"What if what?" I asked, wondering what the hell was going through Mia's crazy mind now.

"What if she's pregnant or something?" Mia asked, lowering her voice.

I blinked. "Wait... what?"

"Never mind...." She shook her head.

"What the hell makes you think she's pregnant?" I asked again.

"I dunno." She shrugged. "The signs are there. But she hasn't told me about being with anyone." I could see the wheels turning in her head. "Although she did tell me about this Jason guy… maybe they…"

"Just because she's throwing up doesn't mean that she's pregnant, Mia." I cut her off rudely. "It's probably the flu."

"Yeah, you're probably right." Mia nodded.

I laid my head back against the couch and closed my eyes. I don't know why it pissed me off so much when she mentioned Jason's name. I knew the guy was a loser. I guess it was the thought of him and Amber… it just didn't sit well with me. The thought of Amber being pregnant scared me, but the thought of her pregnant with Jason's kid… well that just pissed me off. I knew it wasn't possible though. Amber was on the birth control pill and that shit was practically fool proof. I was starting to breathe a sigh of relief when Mia spoke again.

"But..."

"Oh, God." I moaned. "What?"

"It doesn't look like flu symptoms to me. You know, she didn't have a cold or anything..."

I couldn't do anything but glare at her.

"But... but I could be wrong!" Mia said quickly. Wisely. "Yeah, you know what? I'm probably wrong."

"Hey," Dom's voice cut through the room. "I, uh, think that someone's in the bathroom throwing up or something."

"Really?" I asked, sarcastically. "What makes you say that?"

"I dunno." Dom shrugged. "The sound of retching kind of gave it away, though."

"It's Amber." Mia chimed in. "She hasn't been feeling well lately."

"Oh, really?" Dom asked, looking at me. "She isn't knocked up or anything is she?"

I considered banging my head into the wall, but settled with laying it back against the couch instead.

"**No**, Dom," I closed my eyes. "She's not."

"Well --" Dom started again.

I clenched my jaw and looked at him.

"So, uh, what's on TV?" He asked quickly, settling down next to Mia.

I shook my head at both of them and rolled my eyes. I couldn't believe that they'd actually suggested that Amber could be pregnant. It wasn't like it was a _bad_ possibility or anything, just... surprising.

Suddenly, I found myself wondering what kind of father I would be if I did have a kid. _'Fuck,'_ I said to myself. _'You gotta stop thinking this way, dawg, 'cause she's not.' _

I tried to focus on the basketball game that Dom had turned on, but I couldn't.

_'Well,'_ I said to myself. _'There's only one way to find out.'_


	43. Chapter 41

One day, I woke up and Leon seemed to know me better than a lot of people did. I knew him, too. I knew that he hated waking up before 9 am. I knew that he liked his coffee with a little bit more cream then sugar. I knew that when he got upset, he'd clench his jaw and run his hands through his hair a lot. When he's happy, you can see the smile in his green eyes. When he's thinking hard about something, he kinda bites on his lower lip nervously. It's kinda funny; a lot of people don't realize the complications of a relationship. The ups and downs. The promises and failures. The trial and tribulation.

Anyone who knew the history with me and Leon would think that he was my crutch. And they're probably right, 'cause he is. Or, maybe, **was**. I was beginning to think that I was a lost cause. I had the normal background, you know? My mother was a twice divorced, drug addicted woman. My father was never in the picture. I escaped that lifestyle to find something better -- only to gain one that mirrored it.

Don't get me wrong. I mean Jason and Jordan are good people... despite the fact that they're perfectly comfortable with where they are. I mean, at one point, I was too. I used to envy them for having each other... for having something that was **so** unattainable for other people. They really do love each other, though. I think Jordan would freak out if she woke up one day and Jason wasn't there. I really do.

But as I was saying...

You know, it's really funny. Leon is the one thing in my life that had ever been so consistent. So right. Yet, for the first time ever, I have this small sense of independence. I finally feel like I've gotten somewhere in life and I didn't have to have baggage to go along with it.

I still smile when I think about the day that Mia and Letty found out about me and Leon. It had been a week or two after I'd felt sick and Leon and I were in his room, watching some old Jackie Chan film. That was Leon for ya, though. If it had Bruce Lee, Brandon Lee, or Jackie Chan in it, he'd watch.

It was really nice to see him laughing again. All the stress from the shop had been getting to him lately. I couldn't help but stare at him as he grinned while watching the movie.

"You know, just because you think someone's into a movie doesn't make it less creepy when you're gawking at them for an hour." Leon said, a pompous grin replacing the smile.

"I wasn't _gawking_" I replied, defensively. "And it wasn't for an hour."

"Huh." He raised his eyebrows. "So what's so fascinating?"

"It's just... nice to see you really smiling again." I admitted.

"Oh, God..." He rolled his eyes.

"What?"

"There you go... getting all sentimental on me." He sighed.

"I'm not getting sentimental." I replied defensively.

"Uh huh." He drawled. "First my hair and now my smile? I'll never understand it..."

"What's wrong with me complimenting you?" I asked, tucking a pillow behind me as I lay back.

"I dunno." Leon mumbled. "A girl's never really **complimented** me on my smile..."

"What do they compliment you on? You're mechanic techniques?" I snorted.

"Well... _other_ techniques..." He grinned.

"Oh, shut up!" I said, laughing. "You're such a dog sometimes, you know that, right?"

"Yeah," He stretched out next to me. "I know."

"Well," I said, simply. "If it makes you feel any better, I _love_ your smile."

Leon propped himself up on his elbow and leaned down and kissed me. A very subtle, sweet kiss. He swept down and started to kiss my neckline, pausing to bite and nibble every few kisses.

"Hey Leon --" Mia's voice seemed to come from nowhere.

Leon and I both looked up to find Mia standing in the doorway, looking somewhat shocked.

"I -- uh -- **OhmyGod** --" She sputtered before turning around and walking right back out.

"Someone needs to put a bell on that girl." Leon mumbled, settling back down next to me.

"I guess now's the time to go talk to her..." I sighed, getting off the bed.

**

"Mia!" I called out, trying to catch up with her fast pace. "Wait up."

"Oh my God..." Mia said, suddenly stopping in her tracks.

"Look --"

"Oh my God..." She repeated.

"I'm sorry." I said. "We should've mentioned it..."

"I can't believe this!" Mia hissed. "You guys -- together -- for how long?"

"A month..." I replied meekly.

"Okay!" Mia exploded. "A few days? I can understand. Two weeks? -- Maybe. But a month? How the hell did this one get past me?!"

"I dunno. I guess we never figured out the right time to tell you guys..." I said.

"Oh, well, if you can't find a way to tell someone, you can always leave the door unlocked." She muttered.

"Mia, please don't be mad at me." I said, looking down. "It's really complicated."

"I'm not mad, Am." She said softly. "I'm actually pretty happy."

I looked up at her and saw that she was smiling. The uneasiness that had begun to form in the pit of my stomach had started to sink.

"But you can't keep shit like this from me!" She added, smacking my arm.

"I know." I smiled a little. "Sorry."

"Did anyone else know?" Mia asked.

I shook my head, "Not that I know of..."

"Dom did." She said suddenly. "Oh, I should've figured it out! Dom totally knew..."

"Wait. What makes you think that Dom knew?" I asked, completely confused.

"If you knew my brother the way **I** do, then you'd be able to tell. Ugh. Where is he? 'Cause he's so dead..." With that, Mia continued down the hall... on a mission to find Dom.

"Poor Dom." I muttered to myself. "Hope he has a death wish."


	44. Chapter 42

As it turned out, Mia **didn't** kill Dom. She'd only chewed him out. Can't say that much for Letty, though. When Dom confessed that he had an idea of Leon and I, Letty pretty much fit every foul word into a sentence.

I didn't even know that was possible.

The next few weeks, Leon got busier at the shop. It didn't bother me... at first. I mean, it was his job, right? But he was starting to spend more time there... not really making time for me and him to spend together. Sometimes I'd get upset, other times I'd try to brush it off. It was understandable. I'd spend more time with Mia and Letty, instead. We had fun, hanging out at Jerry's and stuff.

"What's wrong, Amber?" Mia asked.

"Hmm?" I snapped out of my daze. "Oh, nothing..."

"You seem out of it." Letty noted.

"I just feel like Leon's been distant, that's all." I confessed.

"What makes you think that?" Letty frowned.

"He's been spending a lot of time at the shop."

I was really starting to sound pathetic. I mean, I was whining about my boyfriend not spending enough time with me when I knew he had reasons... work reasons to say the least.

"I'm really lame." I sighed aloud.

"No." Mia shook her head. "You're not. I'm sure Leon's just taking care of business."

Leon ended up calling me sometime during the next two days, asking me to meet him. It was then that I found out what was really going on.

**

"Leon?" Amber's voice echoed through the garage. "You here?"

"Yeah." I called back. "I'm in the office."

I was happy to hear her voice again. It had been awhile, actually. I had to spend most of my time working at the shop and not letting her in on what I was actually doing. It was worth it, though. After spending a few weeks working on the Honda nonstop, it was finally finished. As it turned out, it really didn't need a lot. With Dom's help, I'd even managed to get it repainted a midnight blue color. Of course, Dom wanted to throw in some racing shit. After debating about it, ("She wouldn't know what to do with it." "Leon, if you're gonna hook up the car, shit, you'd better go all the way.")

"What's wrong?" Amber asked as soon as she walked in.

"I missed you, too." I grinned.

"You know I did." She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me softly.

"So," She looked at me. "What's wrong?"

"What makes you think something's wrong?" I asked.

"I dunno..." She shrugged. "I just got that vibe. Haven't seen you that much lately. You've been pretty busy, so I thought..."

"I've just been working nonstop..." I kissed her forehead. "But I do have to talk to you about your car..."

"Oh God." A look of panic spread across her face. "What?"

"Well..."

Before I could finish, she pulled away from me and went back into the garage. "Where is it?" She asked, looking around.

"It's gone." I said.

"What? What do you mean gone?" She tugged at the ends of her hair nervously. "Where is it?"

I looked at her. "I donated it to Mike's Used Parts. He can use those parts more than we could have."

"You what?" A wave of panic spread across her face. She took a deep breath and shook her head."Okay," she added calmly, "and why would you do that?"

"You really don't need it." I shrugged.

"Hi, Leon? What're you talking about? Of course I need a car!" She walked back towards me. "Unless you want me to keep yours forever."

"Well, no...--"

"But I don't want to keep your car forever, Leon!" She said. "How could you of gotten rid of it? I loved that Honda. You know, me and that car went through a lot of shit together..."

She didn't seem to notice me grabbing her hand and pulling her towards the other car.

"...it was a decent car, too. It was great on gas and everything! -- What is this?"

I touched the hood of the Midnight Blue car. "I decided that your old car needed to be properly retired and so... I got you this."

Her brown eyes grew wide as she placed her hand over her mouth. She looked at me and then the car.

"This is for me?"

"Yeah." I said slowly.

"Oh my God..." She hesitantly took a step forward. "Where did? How?..."

"Just something I found lying around..." I smiled.

"Seriously, Leon..." Her voice was shaky. "Where did you get this?"

"A guy I know sold it to me. I've been working on it for the past 3 weeks, with Dom's help, adding stuff on and small repairs..." Now I was getting nervous. Her reaction was what I wanted but I wasn't sure. She just stood there, stuck in her spot, eyes on the car. I didn't think she was angry but...

"Look... if you want, I'll go get your old car and get it taken care of." I said, quietly.

"No." She said quickly.

"Really..." I insisted. "It's no big deal."

"No." She said softly. "I'm sorry if I seemed ungrateful or something." She was trying not to cry. I could see that. I pulled her into my arms and kissed the top of her head.

"I love it." She sighed.

"Really?"

"Yes!" She giggled. "I can't believe that you did this for me. _No one_ has ever done this for me..."

I placed my finger under her chin and tilted her head up. "You're worth it." I leaned in and kissed her and suddenly, I remembered exactly what I'd missed. Her soft lips, the way her curves felt against my body.

**Her.**

The kiss became more urgent and I could feel Amber's hands tugging at the buttons on my shirt. Her lips left mine as she moved towards my collar bone. With each button she undid, kisses followed.

"You do realize where we are, right?" I managed to ask.

"Mmhmm…" She murmured. "Why?"

I nodded towards the door.

"Oh," Amber giggled. "I hardly doubt anyone's going to come in..."

"You sure?" I asked.

"Nope." She smiled. "But we could always stop, you know, and do this another time."

She leaned back against the hood of her car and raised her eyebrows.

"And you say **I'm** bad?"

She wrapped her arms around my waist, pulling me closer so that I was settled between her legs.

"Now..." Amber said, her tongue flicking at the base of my neck. "Are you sure you want to stop?"

"Uh..." Was all I could say.

"Thought so," She said, looking up at me, her eyes gleamed mischievously.

I finally looked at her -- really looked at her -- and noticed what she'd been wearing. She had on a black knee length skirt with a honey colored tank top to go with it. It seemed to bring out her cinnamon colored eyes perfectly.

Everything I'd wanted was right there in front of me. Suddenly I wasn't worried about anyone coming in anymore.

She seemed surprised enough when I brought my lips down to hers, my tongue urgently pushing past her lips. My fingers slid under her tank top and I fumbled with the clasp of her bra. I could feel myself getting harder as she pressed herself against me.

"I knew there was a reason why I decided to wear a skirt today." Amber said her voice rough.

_'Thank God for that...'_ Was all I could really think at the time.


	45. Chapter 43

"Do you think there's something going on with Dom and Letty?" Leon randomly asked me one day.

"What?"

"Do you think there's something going on with Dom and Letty?" He repeated slowly.

"Er... I don't know." I lied.

I'd see the way they'd look at each other and Letty hadn't been too secretive with me and Mia about her feelings for Dom. Besides, it wasn't really for me to say. And if it were, what could I have said? That I'd practically went with Mia to help Letty find some velvet lined handcuffs to seduce Dom with?

Somehow I don't think that would've gone on too well with Leon.

"Where'd that come from?" I wondered aloud.

"He got her this car for her birthday..." Leon mumbled.

"How sweet!" I grinned.

By the look he gave me, it seemed like the wrong thing to say.

"Well, if there was... would you be mad?" I asked cautiously.

"No..." Leon said, but I could tell he was lying. "Yes. I don't know."

"Why?" I frowned. "I don't see why there would be a problem."

"She's young." Leon said as if it were that simple.

"She's growing up." I retorted. "C'mon, Leon, it wouldn't be that bad... would it?"

"Of course it would." Leon sighed. "Letty doesn't need to deal with relationships yet."

"She's not 10 years old!" I laughed. "Letty growing up is bound to happen sometime! And I don't know about you but if she had to be with someone, I'd prolly choose Dom."

Leon chewed on his lower lip before finally responding. "I guess you're right... I still don't like the idea, though."

"Well, babe." I said, ruffling his hair. "You might not **like** it, but you sure the hell have to respect it. And get used to it."

**


	46. Chapter 44

"Do you wanna go somewhere with me?" Leon asked as he planted light kisses on my collarbone.

I sat at the edge of his bed with a towel loosely hanging on my torso, trying to focus on what he was saying as he continued to kiss my neck.

"Well?" He asked, looking at me.

I looked at him and blinked. I couldn't even grasp what the hell he was talking about; not with him looking so fucking beautiful with his hair dripping wet, face clean shaven…

"Uh…" I struggled to find a coherent sentence. "Where do you wanna go?"

"Somewhere." He said.

"Like the movies or something?" I asked, not quite getting it.

"No. I was thinking more along the lines of a get away. You don't have to work this weekend and neither do I. It would be nice to get out of town for awhile, test drive that car of yours…" He said casually, while drawing invisible patterns on my thigh.

I tried to mask my shock, "Sure."

He grinned that Leon grin, "Alright! C'mon, let's get some shit together."

**

It was almost sad how much of my stuff was actually at Leon's house. I had a majority of my clothes there.

Leon called Dom to let him know that we were going to be out of town for awhile, and wondered if he could watch over Letty while we were gone. Dom had no problem with it, of course; considering him and Letty were practically together. When Leon had found out about it, he didn't freak out like I thought he would. He quietly acknowledged their relationship and left it at that. He never reacted to anything they did. I knew he eventually accepted it because he could see how well they were together. They complimented each other perfectly.

"So where are we going anyway?" I asked as he settled into the driver's seat.

"San Diego." He said as he put the key in the ignition.

"San Diego?" I repeated, trying not to sound surprised. "Okay."

"Have you ever been there?"

"No." I said, almost sadly. "It's weird; I've been in L.A. how long and I've never even ventured outside of it."

"Well here's your chance, right?" Leon grinned as he started the car. "It's gonna be fun. I promise."

**


	47. Chapter 45

A little over 2 hours later we finally arrived. Leon pulled into a hotel driveway and parked.

"Wait, Leon… it's Friday. Are you sure there's gonna be availability?" I asked.

"Well, no…" Leon said, frowning.

"Oh, great…" I mumbled. "I don't know if any hotel's gonna have vacancies…"

"Well, I guess it's a good thing I made a reservation, right?" Leon said, smiling.

"You did?" I felt relieved. "Wait, when did you make a reservation? We only stopped for gas once…"

"About a week ago." Leon shrugged.

"You had this planned?" I looked at him like he was crazy.

"Yeah, I mean I think after everything… I think we needed this, you know?"

I couldn't help but smile that huge, dorky smile I had when I was excited, "You're something else…"

"Don't mention it." He said, touching my leg. "Let's go check in."

**

"Oh, wow…" I said, almost stunned into silence as I walked into the room.

The room was nice; like bordering on luxury nice. It wasn't huge, but the amenities stood out. A nice kitchenette with a mini bar, a pretty nice sized TV in an armoire, and a nice plush queen sized bed in the center of the room. It wasn't the Hilton but it wasn't a Motel 6 either.

"I can't believe I'm in San Diego right now!" I said gleefully, as I touched the comforter on the bed. "I don't know what we should do first. Ooh! There's a mini bar…"

I felt Leon's arms wrap around my waist from behind as he pulled me against him.

"Well, how about we go out to dinner, have a few drinks, come back and maybe christen our room?" He said gruffly as he kissed my earlobe.

I turned around to face him, "That sounds like a _really_ good plan."

**

I never knew I could have so much fun with someone like I did with Leon. The weekend in San Diego was the most fun and exhausting time I'd ever had. We did any and everything we could fit in. Every time I got excited or something small, Leon shared my enthusiasm; He never looked at me like I was crazy for all my reactions to everything. We even went to Sea World, where I was bouncing around like a 5 year old on a sugar rush and it was fun. I didn't have to worry about how I acted around Leon. He was as completely carefree as I was.

"I don't wanna go…" I whined, looking at the waves crashing against the rocks.

Our final destination had been the beach before we had to head back to Echo Park. I was sad almost as much as I was exhausted.

We sat on the shore together; my head lay on his shoulder, just watching the waves. It amazed Leon when I told him that I had never been to the beach in LA. And just like that, we were on the beach.

Most of that moment was in silence, as we both looked out at the ocean, the wind blowing. It wasn't awkward whatsoever. It was more comforting than anything.

"I know." He sighed, kissing the top of my head. "It's nice to get away for awhile. You have fun?"

"Yeah," I said, smiling a little. "I did." I paused for a moment, not sure if I should voice my thoughts out loud. "Leon, you gave me more in 2 days then anyone has in my entire life."

I looked up at him to gauge his reaction. I didn't want him to think I was trying to be all gushy or anything in a nice peaceful moment like this.

He looked down, a smile in his eyes, "You deserve it."

I wondered when the other shoe would drop. Everything I'd experienced in the past year wasn't perfect, but it was damn near. Leon and I rarely got into arguments, which was weird considering how hard headed we were. When we did disagree, we'd actually find some way to compromise rather than debate whatever topic was on hand. As sweet and funny as Leon could be, I knew he wasn't the most perfect guy in the world. He had his moments of imperfection that was for sure. He left the toilet seat up, and if football or basketball was on, he'd put all of his focus into that. He had an unhealthy obsession with martial arts movies and somehow I learned to deal with it. It wasn't like I spent every waking moment with him either. I'd spend a lot of time with Letty and Mia and I loved every minute of it. It was great for Leon and me because we didn't have to be around each other all day, everyday. We knew how to exist away from one and another and that was satisfying.

I laughed out loud at my own thoughts and Leon looked at me inquisitively.

"Just thinking…" I said, answering his unspoken question.

"About?" He asked.

"I was just thinking about us…" I said, trying to hide my smile. "We've been together for how long now and I was kinda just thinking about where we would be… 8 to 10 years from now…"

"Ah," He said quietly. "That's a good one. I never really thought about it…"

I shot him a dirty look.

"Whoa, wait, didn't mean it that way. What I meant was… I mean, so far when I think of my future, I think of running _my own_ successful business, getting the Skyline, modifying it and being happy."

"Ugh!" I muttered. "I swear you and that damn Skyline. Anyway… where do I fit in all of this?"

"You?" Leon asked, "I don't know…"

I gave him another dirty look.

"Just kidding." He laughed. "I see you right there, running everything with me. Why where do you see yourself?"

I shrugged. "In 8 to 10 years? I see me being completely happy… maybe having kids…"

"Kids?" Leon asked, raising his eyebrows. "How many kids were you thinking, exactly?"

"Hm." I said as I turned to look at him. "Not too many. 5… maybe 6."

"5 or 6?" Leon asked, looking like he was going to choke.

I stifled a laugh and tried to look serious, "Yeah. How awesome would that be?"

"Yeah… awesome…" He muttered. "I mean 1 or 2, sure… maybe even 3. But God, could you imagine 6 kids running around the house?"

"Well if they looked like you, it would be cute." I tried to stifle my laugh as I imagined little boys running around in wife beaters and baggy sweats.

"You do realize that they say that kids turn 10 times worse than their parents, right?" Leon said, sounding nervous.

"Oh." I frowned. "Then we're prolly screwed in that department, aren't we?"

"Oh yeah…" Leon sighed. "Definitely screwed."


	48. Chapter 46

I was surprised to see Letty up the morning after Amber and I had gotten back from San Diego.

I was even more surprised to see Mia and Dom there too.

"Hey, guys." I said, walking straight to the coffee. "What's up?"

"Hey, Leon." Mia spoke first. "How was the trip?"

"It was cool." I nodded, turning back to them.

"Good." Mia smiled faintly, looking down at her breakfast.

There was a strange silence among them. I looked over at each one of them, trying to get a read on the situation when I finally got a good look at Dom. He had a couple of bruises on his face.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked sharply.

"Johnny Tran's what happened." Letty muttered.

"Wait, what?" I blinked. "You got in a fight with Johnny Tran?"

"You could say that..." Mia said stiffly, folding her arms over her chest. "Throw in about 10 of his asshole friends and you'll get the picture."

"You were **jumped?!**" I pushed myself away from the counter, suddenly forgetting about that cup of coffee that I'd been craving. "What the fuck for?"

"Julie's pregnant." Mia said quietly. "She says it's Dom's kid."

I didn't know too much about the Trans but I knew enough. Johnny Tran thought he was a bad ass motherfucker who ran things. He and his cousin Lance loved to bully people and sadly, it almost always worked. Johnny didn't look intimidating, shit I knew I could take him one of one in a fight if I needed to, but Johnny never played fair. He had the resources that most guys don't; money and a shit load of connections. Johnny liked to race, and it was just about the only thing he did fair. Julie Tran was a different story. Back in high school, Dom and Julie were sort of together… well, more like friends with benefits minus the friends part. After Dom had got put away, Julie moved on; or so almost every guy in town said. After Dom was released, he told me that he had seen Julie at the races and she threw herself at him and he shot her down because he just wasn't into her like that anymore. Julie was pissed the fuck off, no doubt about it.

"But it's **not**, right?" I clenched my jaw.

"Of course it's not!" Dom said his voice low. "Look, people know about me and Letty now and Julie's not taking it well. She wants to hurt me because I rejected her that time. I guess she thought sending Johnny after me would do the job."

"That's not all." Mia said quietly. "Julie also said that Dom beat the shit out of her; almost made her lose the kid."

"Fuck!" I muttered, pacing back and forth. This was too much shit to deal with this early in the morning.

"Johnny and Lance are threatening to go after Letty if Dom doesn't fix this." Mia added disgust in her voice.

"Whoa. Wait a minute." I stopped in my tracks. "Not only did Johnny and his posse jump Dom, but now they threatened Letty?" I paused for a second, considering circumstances. "Okay." I nodded. "I'm going to find that bastard and beat the shit out of him."

"Leon," Letty said, touching my arm. "Calm down."

"Calm down?" I looked down at her, shocked that she was so laid back about this. "Letty, Johnny Tran is not the one to be fucking with, okay? He doesn't play around! He isn't full of empty threats anymore. He threatened Dom and look what happened! Now he's threatening you --"

"This is why we have a plan. And we need your help." Mia interjected.

I took a deep breath. "Okay..."

"Right now we need to keep Johnny off our backs until Julie is far enough to get a paternity test. So..." She trailed off.

"So?" I asked. "What's the plan? Where do we go from here?"

"So from now on, Dom and Letty are broken up, as far as the public knows. We're going to make it look as though Letty isn't that important factor in his life, crossing her off of Johnny's list. To the outside world, Dominic Toretto is back to his old ways: fucking around with other girls."

"You're saying that Dom is going to have to cheat on Letty?" I asked, frowning.

Letty stiffened next to me. I'd forgotten that she was even there. I was so focused on what Mia was saying. I realized that I was absently rubbing her shoulder the whole time Mia had been talking.

"Not necessarily..." Mia said slowly.

"I don't get it." I shook my head. "How can we pull this off without Dom actually being with someone?"

"Well," Mia looked back and forth between Dom and Letty before looking back at me. "We were thinking that maybe, you know, that..."

"Spit it out, Mia." I sighed.

"Amber." She said simply.

"Amber? What does she have...?" I realized then what she was saying. She wanted Amber to pull this off with Dom. I leaned back against the counter again, my teeth tugging on my lower lip.

"So that's the plan?" I asked, snapping back into focus.

Mia nodded.

"I have to say -- it's a good plan. One minor problem, though. The fact that my **girlfriend** has to be a part of this! There's no way I'm going to let this happen. Not with Johnny being the spiteful bastard he is. I don't need to drag Amber into this. Not so she can be threatened, too." I started pacing.

"It'll only be for a few races, Leon, if that. And don't worry… Johnny won't go after her. Not if he doesn't think it's a serious thing." She took a deep breath. "It'll be okay. I promise."

I stopped pacing and looked at her. "Fine. Okay. But I don't know how Amber will react to this. She might not want to take part in this whole thing."

"If I know Amber the way I think I know her, she will." Mia said, quietly.

**

"Wait, you want me to **what?**" I blinked.

"I need you to go to a few races," Leon said slowly, "and act as though you're with Dom."

I shook my head as if it was going to make what he had just said go away.

"You're crazy." I took a few steps to the left and picked up a beer.

He let out a deep sigh. "I just need you to do this."

"Fucking insane is more like it." I mumbled.

I was trying my best to keep my cool but it was kinda hard when someone slams this on you. I took a swig of the beer, trying to erase the bitter taste that was starting to form in the back of my throat. It wasn't working...

"It's nothing." Leon stood in his spot. "Just a few races. That's it."

"God," I bit my lip. "This is... this is too much, Leon."

"There's no other option!" Leon sighed heavily.

"You're asking me to act like I'm with Dom; to act like a whore and get groped for the whole world to see? That's a little hard for me to swallow, Leon." I rubbed my temples.

"Right now Johnny Tran is planning something; something bad." Leon closed his eyes for a moment. "And right now we need to do anything we can to prevent it. There is no other option, Am. If you refuse to do this, Dom's gonna have to either cheat on Letty or hide somewhere…"

I hated this. I didn't want to be involved in this bullshit, but I knew I didn't have a choice. I cared about Dom and Letty. I knew that they would only come to this decision as a last resort. They really needed me on this one.

"I don't think I can pull it off," I said softly. "I never was a good actress."

"Well," Leon replied just as softly, "doesn't hurt to try. This is the only thing that we can think of to get them out of this mess."

"You don't think people would find it odd?" I turned looked at Leon, "You know, Dom suddenly showing up with someone else at the races?"

Leon shook his head. "Not if they think that it was just a sex thing with Dom and Letty. Something like that. Anyway, all we have to do is make it look like it's over between them and that Dom has moved on."

"... and you guys seem to think that I'm the one that can help make this happen?" I asked.

"Amber you're the only one we trust. This has to work." Leon ran his hand down the length of my arm. "I'm not too fond of this idea either but it's gotta happen..."

"Alright." I said, pretty sure I would choke on my next words. "I'll do it."

**

"Okay." Mia said, looking me over. "We gotta find something for you to wear; something girls at races wear, something... skanky."

"Skanky." I muttered dryly. "Something I always dreamed of becoming."

She stopped rummaging through the closet long enough to look at me. "We appreciate this, Amber. Really, we do. I know it's going to be hard but..."

"I know." I said quietly.

"Ooh!" Mia said, pulling out something that resembled a halter top. "This'll work. Now to find a top to go with it..."

"Whoa." I said. "'Find a top'? You're not telling me that that thing right there is a skirt are you?"

"It's one of Letty's skirts." Mia explained. "It's really cute. And it'll look good on you."

"I don't know, Mia." I said slowly. "I don't think I'll feel comfortable wearing something like that..."

"Amber, we can't just throw you in jeans and a t-shirt. It's the _races._ You gotta be dressed for them. Remember, we want you to look like you're in."

"What the hell did I get myself into?" I muttered.

"Here we go." Mia grinned, pulling out a lace tank-top. "Here," She shoved the clothes in my arms. "Go try 'em on!"

"You know I'm going to kill you when this is all over, right?" I frowned. "In the most painful way possible."

**

"C'mon, we're going to be late!" Dom called.

"We're coming." I heard Mia respond. "Give us a second..."

"Mia!" I rolled my eyes. "C'mon already. I'm sure whatever outfit you picked out for Amber looks okay. Can we just go so we can get this over with?"

"Oh shut up, Leon." Mia said, poking her head out from the bedroom door. She looked behind her and raised her eyebrows. "You ready? What do you mean no? Oh come on... it looks good!" She poked her head out the door again. "She's just being shy..."

Mia smiled as she walked down the hall and stood next to me. "She really does look good." she whispered.

My breath seemed to catch in my throat when Amber walked out. She looked... different.

But good. Definitely good.

Amber was never the one to wear makeup regularly. Occasionally, she'd put on some lip gloss and mascara and that was pretty much it. But not tonight. Her eyes were lined with black eyeliner, making her cinnamon colored eyes look lighter and sexier. Her lips had a tint of red to them. I had always thought her legs were long, but in that skirt, they looked endless. I couldn't help but look her over. She definitely had the look down. I could feel a twinge of jealousy rise in the pit of my stomach. Everyone would be seeing her like this tonight. Everyone would see my girlfriend looking so stunning. And she wouldn't even be with me.

_'Forget it. We're not gonna do this.'_ I wanted to say. _'C'mon, let's just go find the assholes and beat the shit out of them.'_

"Are we ready to go?" Is what came out instead.

"Yeah." Dom nodded. "Okay, Mia. Letty. You guys ride together. Amber, I guess you're coming with me. Leon." Dom nodded to me. "I'll see you there."

"Yeah." I nodded absently.

"Alright. Let's just get this shit over with." Dom said, heading out the door.

"It'll be fine." Amber said, trying to smile. "I'll see you there, right?"

"Of course." I said, kissing her quickly. "We're going to make sure this thing gets over with. Quick."

**


	49. Chapter 47

The car ride with Dom was a quiet one. There wasn't really much to say I guess. I mean, neither of us was happy with the whole situation. I kept my eyes focused out my window, silently taking in the whole LA scene. It really was a gorgeous city; action and lights.

"Are you okay?" Dom's deep voice broke through my train of thoughts.

"Huh? Oh, yeah." I said quietly.

I noticed that the car was off and we were parked in an abandoned lot of some sort. It took me a minute to realize that this was the place we were supposed to be. I finally looked up and noticed people standing outside, near their fixed up cars, staring over at us.

It was almost like everything stopped and the world could only focus on us.

I looked over at Dom, a panicked look flashed across my face.

"Look, Amber, I know that this is hard for you, but I just wanna say thank you." Dom said quietly.

I tried to smile but it didn't work out so well, "Dom," I asked through clenched teeth. "Why's everyone staring at us?"

"Well," Dom said, clearing his throat. "People are expecting us… and I'll bet they already know about the Julie situation, so they're probably just waiting for the dramatic bullshit to come through."

"Oh." I said meekly, as if that explained enough. "Okay."

"Look, Amber. I just gotta let you know, most girls here are bitches. They're competitive and they probably won't like you. Don't let them get to you, okay?"

I nodded, not sure what I should think.

"And if anyone and I mean anyone, says anything to you… let me know." He added seriously.

I nodded again. "I just want to get this over with, you know?"

"Yeah," Dom nodded. "Trust me. I know."

I looked over to where everyone else was and regretted it instantly. People were just staring. Leon had mentioned to me one time that people just loved Dom, especially the girls. That worried me more because I knew I would probably get catty remarks from a majority of them.

'Its okay, Amber.' I told myself silently. 'You've been through worse. Way worse. You can deal with it.'

And with that thought, I took in a deep breath and got out of the car.

**

"So," Letty asked me. "How was the trip to San Diego?"

I smiled a little, knowing Letty was just trying to take our minds off of what was going on around us.

"Nice." I nodded.

"Uh huh." She drew out. "Just _'nice'_?"

"Well, yeah," I smirked. "It was good to get away; really good. It took a lot of stress off of us, you know?"

"Yeah." Letty sighed. "Okay, this whole thing sucks!" She added.

"Its okay, Let." I tried to reassure her, even though I knew it was true. "It'll be okay."

"I just… I just wish I could kick Julie's ass for this!" She bit out.

"I don't think you're the only one…" I mumbled, darting a glance over at Amber and Dom.

I winced as Dom wrapped his arms around Amber's waist.

'_It's all an act.'_ I told myself. _'It's for the best.'_

I basically said whatever I could to convince myself that it wasn't real.

After what felt like an eternity, I looked at Letty.

She was a strong girl. Tough as nails and mature as hell, but I could see how much the situation pained her. Hell, I could practically see her grinding her teeth.

I wished there was an easier way for us to go about this. I wished that Julie would've never come up with this bullshit. But there wasn't and she did. So I knew right then that I had to be strong for Letty. It was a family thing. I had to hold her up and keep everything realistic. I had to remind her that this was just a game. A fucked up one… sure, but a game nonetheless.

I could only hope that she'd see it that way.

**

Girls walked by and glared at me as Dom's arms rested loosely around my waste. I could practically taste the venom. I tried to play it casual; I tried to look like I was in heaven as Dom played with the hem of my skirt.

I hadn't been with Leon that long, but somehow, someway, I was already accustomed to his fingers, his touch.

And Dom's touch just wasn't doing it. It was awkward and weird. Strange and off; But it had to be done.

Dom and I got into a little argument while we were playing the roles. I admitted that I just wasn't attracted to Dom and he seemed taken aback. It was all in good fun, of course. Another thing to keep us distracted from what was really going on.

After Dom's friend, Hector, had come and interrupted us, I felt relieved, despite the fact that Dom almost shoved me a mile away. It was nice to be given a break. I listened, bored, as Dom and Hector talked football. In fact, I wasn't even listening. My mind drifted off to other places. I thought of Leon and what he meant to me. I thought of life in general. In my life, I'd never been treated so great by one specific person, but Leon seemed to do it for me. I never felt judged when I was around him. He treated me like I was fragile, so delicate to the touch and I liked that. I appreciated it.

I was so caught up in my daze that I didn't even notice Dom's had creeping up my skirt. I tensed up and nudged him in the ribs. I guess it worked 'cause Dom suddenly froze and threw a glance my way. I was going to fucking kill him.

Hector decided to leave and as soon as he got out of earshot, I pulled away from Dom.

"Fuck, Dom!" I hissed, settling into the passenger seat. "I thought I told you to watch the hands! What the fuck is wrong with you? Give me one good reason why I shouldn't kick your ass."

"I'm sorry, Amber." Dom mumbled. "I don't know what the fuck I was thinking. I thought that you were Letty and --"

I let out a sharp sigh, "Fine, whatever. Just… don't let it happen again, okay? Let's just go to this fucking party and get this shit over with already!"

**

Letty and I pulled up to the house, not saying a word. People were already all around, getting drunk and acting stupid. I looked straight ahead, trying to contemplate what to say to Letty to make her feel better. When I saw Dom's hand ride up Amber's skirt, it took a lot from me not to flip the fuck out and go off. I had to focus on something else entirely until I remembered that Letty had been right next to me. The look on Letty's face after witnessing that was damn near devastating. She was trying to act calm, I could tell and for Letty, that was a big thing.

"You gonna come inside?" I asked, getting out of the car.

"Nah," Letty shook her head, "I think I'm gonna chill out here for awhile, get some air…"

I looked at Letty closely, trying to figure out if she was okay or not. I didn't want to keep bugging her about talking to me if she needed to. I figured that she just needed time to herself, so I started to walk towards the house, "Okay, if you need anything…"

"Come get you." Letty said absently. "Yeah, I know… thanks."

I went inside and instantly started to look around for Dom and Amber. I didn't see them in the front room, so I decided that I should act more casual and went to go get a beer for me and Letty. I moved into the kitchen and as soon as I reached into the fridge, I felt someone's hand on my forearm. I looked up to see a blonde smiling down on me.

"Hi." She purred.

I grabbed a beer and stood straight up. "Hi."

"I'm Sarah." She flashed another grin my way.

"That's nice."

I didn't want to seem rude, but I didn't feel like playing this fucking game.

"So," She placed her hands on her hips and tossed her hair, "You here alone?"

"Yep." God, what was wrong with me? Why couldn't I just tell this chick to back the fuck off?

I knew that even if I weren't with Amber, I still wouldn't go for her. I wanted to wipe off all that makeup off her face. It wasn't very appealing.

"What a coincidence," She grinned. "So am I. You wanna go somewhere?"

_Fuck this._

"No." I said and I walked away.

Now, I don't remember much but I do remember hearing some commotion coming from the living room. I'd almost forgotten that Letty was outside but I knew that Dom and Amber had arrived.

When I got into the living room, there was Dom and Amber, totally going at it on the couch. I looked over at Letty, who was grinding her teeth so hard, you could practically see the shavings on the floor.

"I'm gonna break something tonight, Leon." She bit out. "I'm sick of this shit."

"You ready to go home, girl?" I asked; hoping I could calm her down.

"Yeah, man." Letty mumbled and stood up. "I just have to take care of something first, then I'm good to go…"

"What are you talking about Letty?" I asked, trying not to panic.

It all happened in an instant. I couldn't jump up fast enough to stop her. I just remember the music stopped and people were looking now as Letty stood there and yelled at Dom.

Okay, fine. Mia must've went through this went them. It was all part of the plan.

But then, then Letty turned on Amber and just started on her too. I remember thinking that it was a good part, but a little too much.

"So tell me, bitch, how's it feel to get fingered in front of the entire fucking world?" Letty snarled. "Was it good for you?"

Instinctively, I looked over and Amber to see what her reaction was and it was then that I knew that this wasn't planned at all. I could see the hurt and confusion on her face. She tried to save face by masking it with a 'whatever' look as she stood up, but I was almost positive that she was just as confused as everyone else.

Dom didn't help any; he was still playing that role of not giving a fuck and I could tell that it was pissing off Letty even more. She was yelling at him, getting in his face and I knew that she would go back to throwing vicious comments at Amber so I had to intervene.

I pushed through the crowd of people standing around gawking and grabbed Letty by her waist and pulled her away from them as fast as I could. "You need to cut the shit!" I yelled at her, not putting on an act at all. I shoved her through the front door and closed it behind me.

"What the fuck was, Letty?" I demanded as soon as we were in the clear, "Amber's doing you and Dom and favor and you go and say that shit to her?"

Letty looked disgusted as she shoved me away, "Yeah, some favor. We shouldn't have done this Leon. We should've never let Mia talk us into this…"

I looked over and saw a couple of nosy ass people trying to listen in on the conversation. I wanted to comfort Letty over what she was feeling, but now wasn't the time.

"Shit girl," I said loudly, nodding slightly towards the house, "You and Dom broke up! You can't just go after any chick he's with now."

I could see the anger in her eyes build right back up, "They were practically fucking in the middle of the street! And he can't even shove his dick back in his pants long enough to talk to me for five seconds?"

"What'd you expect, girl?" I asked quietly, trying to be as comforting as possible. "How'd you think it was going to be?"

"I don't know, but… not this." Letty murmured. She looked tired and out of fight. She was ready to give up. "I didn't think it would be like this. Take me home, Leon…"

"Okay, Letty, okay…" I headed for the door. "Lemme just go tell Mia that we're leaving. You gonna be aight out here by yourself?"

I know Letty said something, but I couldn't hear what she'd said. When I opened the door, I was surprised to see Dom on his way out. He looked like he had just come from a funeral; he looked completely miserable. I gave a slight nod to Dom and walked into the house.

**

"You guys alright?" I asked Letty once we got into the car.

"Yeah, I guess." Letty mumbled, looking out the window.

I'd never seen Letty look so defeated. I knew that she hated herself for reacting the way she did. I'd seen Letty upset before, sure, but never this upset. It was like all the shit that was going on in her life were finally catching up to her and slowly breaking her down.

"This will be over soon. As soon as Julie's far enough along, we'll get this shit taken care of…" I reassured her.

Letty didn't bother meeting my eyes. "Let's just go home…" She sighed.

I opened my mouth to say something but thought the better of it. She didn't want to talk, I understood that. I could respect that. I just wanted to talk to someone. I felt like I needed some sort of reassurance. I mean, I knew that Amber and Dom weren't into each other _like that_, but still, the sight of them tonight was enough to drive me insane…

I didn't even want to think about how many more times I'd have to witness it.

I started the car and headed home; I kept looking over at Letty because she'd been so quiet, I thought she had fallen asleep. She kept her eyes locked on the window, her shoulders tense and her mouth set in a hard line.

When we finally arrived, I didn't say anything; I pulled the keys out of the ignition and got out of the car. I wasn't sure if Letty wanted to be alone or not, I didn't want to ask.

She followed me into the house, shutting the door quietly behind her. I went into the kitchen and grabbed a beer and went into the living room. I threw myself onto the couch and reached for the remote. I didn't care what was on, whatever it was, I'd watch. I was just happy to be in the sanctuary of my own home, where I didn't have to keep secrets and shit…

As it turned out, The Golden Girls was a pretty funny show. Who knew that four old chicks could have a wicked sense of humor?

I was onto my third beer when I saw headlights through the window. I turned the TV off and walked to the door. I came off as desperate and I knew it, but really didn't care. They were in the car talking for a couple of minutes before they came in the house.

Immediately Amber was in my arms, wrapping her arms around me tighter than ever. My chin was resting on the top of her head when I looked over at Dom.

"Hey." I nodded.

"Hey, man," He tilted his head towards the stairs. "Is Letty…?"

I nodded, "Yeah, dawg. She's upstairs. She's sleeping, I think."

He looked at the door for a moment before turning back to me, "Okay, I'm just gonna check on her… then I'm gonna take off."

He wasn't going anywhere once he saw Letty and we all knew it.

I couldn't keep the grin off of my face, "Sure man. We'll see ya tomorrow."

Dom slowly made his way upstairs, trying to be as quiet as possible. Once I heard Letty's door shut, I looked down at Amber and tried to smile, "Have a fun night?"

"Ugh!" She rolled her eyes. "Don't even."

"What?" I asked, trying to feign innocence. "I was just asking a question."

"Honestly, I don't even wanna talk right now. I just want to get out of these clothes and take a shower…" She sighed.

"Alright, come on…" I said, grabbing her hand and leading her up the stairs.


	50. Chapter 48

I woke up early the next morning and saw Leon was still asleep beside me, his arm thrown over my waist. I eased my way off the bed, making sure not to wake him. When I walked into the family room, Letty was in there, curled on the couch watching TV.

I debated saying anything, not sure if she was still pissed off. I turned around to go to the kitchen when Letty spoke.

"Hey, Amber."

I turned and smiled. "Hey."

I moved to the couch and sat down. There was no use in trying to avoid it; Letty had a right to be mad.

I thought very carefully before I chose to speak, "Letty, I'm really sorry about last night. It was a disaster. I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt in the process…"

"No, I'm sorry." Letty said quickly. "It wasn't your fault or anything. I was going through some things and I ended up taking it out on you and Dom. It wasn't anything you did… or Dom. Well, he did grab your ass but we worked that out. Dom told me what happened and how you threatened to kick his ass." She added with a smile. "You forgive me?"

"Of course!" I grinned.

I was so glad that this shit was able to be worked out. I didn't want Letty hating me over this; or anyone else for that matter.

We stayed curled up on the couch and ripped on music videos and random people. I didn't realize that it was already past 11 until Leon came in, rubbing his eyes.

"So there's not going to be a catfight, huh?" He asked, a grin swept across his lips.

The only response he got was pillows tossed his way.


	51. Chapter 49

Dom told me on Monday that Vince was coming back home the next day. I didn't really remember Vince that well. The only thing I remembered was that he had been Dom's friend from way back in the day. He and I probably had 3 conversations, if that, throughout all those years.

It was weird seeing him again. I remembered him being tall and somewhat scrawny. But when he stopped by the house with Dom, he had grown a couple more inches and put on a little more muscle. Dom came in mumbling something about Joe being an asshole or something to that effect. I didn't bother asking who the fuck Joe was and why he was an asshole. I'd wondered if Dom told Vince about the Julie situation and about what we had to do. I figured I'd mention it to him later, when Vince wasn't around.

As far as the public knew, Dom and Amber had called it quits and I was free to go out with her wherever I wanted. Although we would deal with some stares and comments at the races; people just assumed that I was taking Dom's sloppy seconds.

Once Dom formally introduced me and Vince to each other, we pretty much hit it off.

We chilled on the couch as we drank a couple of beers and watched the Sixers game.

"What the fuck was that shit?" Vince asked, damn near tossing his beer out of his hand.

"That was a fucking foul, dawg." I snorted. "You can't elbow someone in the stomach."

"Are you actually going for the Sixers here?" Vince scoffed.

"Ain't any better team." I smiled broadly.

"One word, man: **Lakers**."

And that's where we ended up hitting it off… so to speak. Vince and I were completely opposite but it ended up working out well. When I wasn't cutting him or his sorry ass teams down, he'd be shit talking my guys. It was really odd. But that's how Vince and I were.

It's how we are until this day.

Amber walked into the room and Vince sat up straight. I could see a smile twitch on the corners of his mouth.

"Oh!" I jumped up and moved towards Amber. "Amber, this is Vince. Vince, this is Amber."

"Hi." Vince stood up and held out his hand.

"Nice to meet you." Amber smiled and shook his hand.

She turned to me, "I just came in to tell you that I'm going to head over to Dom's to hang out with Mia and Letty for awhile."

"Okay, cool. We'll probably see you over there later." I nodded.

"Okay. Well I'm out of here." She leaned over and quickly thought the better of it. I knew she'd forgotten Vince was there and didn't know what role to play in front of him. She gave a small little wave as she headed for the door.

A whistle blared on the TV and our attention was turned back to the TV.

"That's bullshit!" Vince yelled.

"It's the way the game's played, man." I laughed.

"Oh God, Dom, are you actually letting them watch this shit?" Amber rolled her eyes.

"What can I do?" Dom asked with a shrug and a grin. "They'll never realize that their teams suck, so why even bother?"

"That's true. I'll see you guys later. Vince, it was nice meeting you. Oh, and don't put so much energy in this game. Everyone knows Denver's taking it all anyway."

And with that, she left.

"Denver won't get past the first round!" Vince called out. "What's she talkin' about?" He turned to us. "Denver? _Denver?_"

"Can't knock the girl's taste." I grinned. "Now come on, Coyote, how much you wanna bet on the Bulls game?"

**

It was really interesting having Vince around; _really_ interesting. He was different… and, well, he was just different.

It seemed like every night there was a party at Dom's and even Leon's. We all decided to just go ahead and make it look like me and Dom's fling had ended. I was free to hang out with Leon openly… even if the girls just scoffed and looked at me odd. Dom and Letty? Not so much. The shit with Julie was still going on. Apparently Julie was more then pissed at Dom for not taking responsibility for "his baby."

It was fucked up. I couldn't believe this Julie chick had the balls to keep this shit up. If Letty and Mia weren't going to kick her ass, I was ready to.

One night after the races, I walked into Dom's house and it was packed with all kinds of people. I spotted Vince in the corner with 3 chicks. I couldn't find anyone else though. I didn't know what to think of Vince. He never went out of the way to talk to me, and frankly I didn't care. I knew that Dom and Letty didn't tell him about what was going on. I also knew that he had found out about 'me and Dom'. When everything between Dom and I ended, and Leon and I decided to be open about our relationship, I could tell that he didn't like that. He thought that I was a little groupie girl who fucked guys to stay in. But like I said before, I didn't care about what he thought. Letty would come over bitching though. Almost everyday she would bring up something else Vince had said to her. I was ready to hate him for it, but it wasn't my business. Like I said, I didn't know Vince. I didn't know his deal or why he was an asshole a majority of the time. He and Leon got along real well though. As long as those girls kept their hands off of Leon, I could care less who Vince was or wasn't with.

Finally, I got tired of being pushed around by sweaty bodies and the smell of alcohol made me want to vomit, so I made my way outside and sat on the curb.

I could hear people entering and exiting the house. I rested my chin on my knees and stared at the house across the street. Suddenly someone sat down next to me.

I looked over to see Vince sitting right there next to me, a cocky grin on his lips.

Oh, _God_. I wasn't in the mood for crude jokes or anything like that.

I didn't say anything. In fact, I tore my gaze from his and stared straight ahead again. Hoping he'd go away.

"So, Dom and Letty finally told me what was going on…" Vince said slowly.

"Did they?" I asked dryly. "Good."

"I already talked to Letty and we're cool now, I guess."

Why was he telling me this?

"Um, look… I know we're not friends or anything. I don't even know you that well or anything. All I know is that you were with Dom and now you're with Leon…"

I opened my mouth to say something but decided against it.

Vince continued. "But now I have the real story. Uh, my point is that I wasn't sure what to make of you… or whatever was going on with Letty and Dom. I'm going to be honest and say that I wasn't even going to make an effort to talk to you, or try to get to know you because I thought that you were another one of them."

"Them?" I asked curiously.

"You know… how do I put this politely…?"

Being polite or proper wasn't Vince's strongpoint. I could tell that much just by looking at him.

"Oh…" I nodded. "What's the word they use at the races? Whore? Slut? Am I remotely close?"

He laughed and nodded. "Yeah… yeah. I guess that's what I've been trying to say." He cleared his throat. "Sorry."

"It's okay. No hard feelings." I smirked. "It was… it _is_ a complicated situation. Can I ask you something?" I didn't even wait for his answer. "You don't know me. You don't know Leon that well either… why were you offended by what was going on?"

He shrugged his shoulders lazily. "I dunno. I was pissed off at Letty for letting herself being taken advantage by Dom. I mean, that girl has been in love with him since I could remember and when I came back and I saw how she looked at him… I knew it was still there. I thought that he was using her, you know? 'Cause Dom always had that reputation and I didn't want Letty to be another number."

I could sort of see where he was coming from; he still didn't have to be an asshole about it though.

"I like Leon though. He's a cool dude. You both are." He added with a smile. "Even though you both have shitty tastes in teams…"

"Whoa." I said, giving him one of my bitchy stares. "I think if you want to get in my good graces you should've stopped at the '_you're both cool people_.' line."

For a moment, Vince looked like he had swallowed his tongue. I'd forgotten that he didn't know me that well and he probably couldn't tell when I was joking and when I wasn't.

I let out a laugh and elbowed him. "Jesus, Vince, you definitely need to hang around me more. I'm totally fucking with you."

A look of relief spread across his features and he let out a nervous laugh.

"And if you think I'm bad, you should see Leon. By the way, don't let him sucker you into bets anymore. Keep doing that then pretty soon he's gonna have pet names for you…" I added.

"Nah." Vince shook his head and laughed. "I can handle him."

I looked at him and raised my eyebrows. "You sure you wanna stick around? It gets way too hectic at times and there's can be **a lot** of drama…"

He looked around his surroundings then finally looked back at me and shrugged half heartedly, "This is my family right here. I wouldn't wanna be anywhere else."


	52. Chapter 50

_**Strangers are just friends waiting to happen**_

_Unknown_

**

Things were going great with everything. Dom was much closer with getting everything with Julie cleared and we could barely wait until that shit was over with. Dom and Letty were living together at Dom's place and I had all but moved in with Leon. I slept over his house 5 nights a week and would mainly go back to my apartment when I needed a break; and with Leon and Vince hanging out constantly, it was a much needed break. Those two were so much alike, even though they'd deny it. When they weren't cutting each other down, they would find someone else to rag on.

I rarely saw Jason and Jordan. Last I thing I knew of they were living together in some shitty part of town. I was hoping that they were off the drugs and finally got their shit together, but then again it was Jason and Jordan.

Sometimes I missed being around them and I really don't know why; maybe because I was around them during a time when I was completely uninhibited. I was able to channel my frustrations onto something else entirely and it was so easy; being with Leon, I would have to deal with our arguments and disagreements head on and sober… like a normal person would. It was nice being me again. I didn't have to play a role for anyone… everyone accepted each other just as they were.

Leon had been busy at the shop the last couple of weeks. He had finally saved enough money and got his _dream car_. The Skyline was a nice car, but it wasn't my style. He and the guys practically spent every waking moment trying to mod the car as much as possible. I didn't mind. I was happy he was happy.

I was curled up in the lazy boy chair at Leon's, watching Ricki Lake when Letty came storming in.

"Jesus Christ!" Letty growled as she threw herself on the couch, laid her head back and looked up at the ceiling. "I can't take it anymore."

"What's wrong Let?" I asked, shutting off the TV and looking at her. I tried to pinpoint why she was frustrated. I hoped she and Dom didn't get into an argument or something.

"This girl at school is driving me insane." Letty sighed, looking back at me. "She's practically fucking stalking me."

"Wait." I said, trying not to laugh. "What? Who?"

Letty sighed as if she'd told this story to a hundred other people; who knows, she probably did.

"Her name is Jamie. She and I were partners in one of my classes. Well I brought her to the shop because the assignment was to interview mechanics and whatnot. Well the assignment ended like, a couple of days ago and now she wants to hang out and shit."

"Aw, that doesn't sound so bad." I smiled. "She probably needs a friend."

"She likes Vince." Letty said.

I knew that my expression had turned from my sweet smile to the complete opposite; probably disgust. "Ew. Why?"

Letty threw her arms in the air as if someone had finally gotten it. "I don't know! She met him at the shop and now she's all into him. I told her about the race on Saturday and she wants to go. So now I have to find a way to convince her WASP parents to let her stay the night."

"Wait." I said again, trying to compute what Letty was saying. "Has she had an actual conversation with Vince or is this one of those things where she saw him from a distance?"

I didn't mean to put Vince down or anything like that. Vince was a good looking guy, that was for sure, but his whole demeanor towards women wasn't too… nice. He was an asshole and he was proud of it. It was Vince.

"He actually flirted with her and took her out for a drive." Letty said, her voice filled with disbelief. "She actually has a crush on him."

I shook my head. "This is a no go. Vince isn't exactly a one woman kind of guy. He makes out with 3 girls at once! How that's even possible is way beyond me."

"Well I told her all about him and she still wants to try." Letty shrugged. "So I'll help her out, but this is as far as I go. Once she sees how he really is, she's gonna run away fast."

I couldn't help but nod in agreement.

Letty sighed and pushed herself up off the couch. "Well I have to go find some old lady clothes and shit…"

"Why?"

"I told her that me and Mia would be over to talk her parents into thinking that we're innocent girls who just want to have this awesome slumber party." Letty rolled her eyes.

"Oh, shit." I laughed. "That means that you have to dress, well unlike you and actually be nice."

"Yeah, whatever." Letty said, rolling her eyes as she left the room.

I turned the TV back on and tried to focus on Ricki Lake and her dramatic show for the day. I couldn't help but picture Letty in a cardigan and a smile slapped on her face. I couldn't wait to meet Jamie. She sounded like a nice girl… another one that had yet to be corrupted. From Letty's description it sounded like she grew up on the right side of the tracks and had yet to experience the wild life. If she thought that being with Vince was going to be all rainbows and kisses, well she was definitely going to be in for a rude awakening.


	53. Chapter 51

_**"I love you, not only for what you are, But for what I am when I am with you."**__  
__**--Roy Croft**_

"You sure you wanna go tonight?" I murmured against his neck.

"It's Friday…" Leon said, as if that were explanation enough.

"Yeah, but I can think of _other_ things to do… more exciting things..." I brushed my lips against his throat.

"Really?" Leon said, his voice growing rough.

"Uh huh." A flicker of tongue. Hips pressed against him.

He sucked in a deep breath. "Jesus, woman, you're gonna kill me."

I smiled a small smile and let my hand wander down to feel him.

"Oh!" I said, feigning surprise. "Races sound **that** exciting to you?"

Suddenly I was on the kitchen counter, Leon pressing himself in between my legs. His mouth was on mine, urgent and fierce.

I groaned as he grabbed my ass and pulled me forward, pushing himself against me even more. I cursed myself for choosing to wear jeans that day.

As I reached down to grab the buttons on his jeans, the phone rang.

"Uh-uh." I murmured against his lips. "Don't."

The persistent ringing didn't stop and I could tell Leon was getting distracted.

"Sorry, babe, I have to… could be an emergency or something." Leon said, pulling himself away from me.

"Ugh. Someone better be dying." I muttered.

Leon walked back into the kitchen, phone in hand, and looking mighty irritated.

"For you." He said.

"Who is it?" I mouthed.

He ran his hands through his hair and held the phone out even further. "Just take the fuckin' thing!" He muttered.

"Well I told you not to answer!" I snipped back as I took the phone. "Hello?"

"Hey." The voice on the other end said.

Letty.

"What's up?"

"Okay, so I have a friend going with us to the races tonight and well… she's really not into the whole dressing skanky thing and we need your help, like now. So… long story short: we need you over Mia's and you need to bring scissors and your infinite wisdom." Letty said quickly.

"Er…okay." I looked up at Leon, who was looking really impatient. "Give me 30-45 minutes to get ready?"

"Alright. See ya then." Letty said.

I hung up the phone and looked at Leon.

"So we're going to the races?" He asked.

I nodded.

"Yay." He said with mock enthusiasm.

"Oh, come on, it'll be fun." I chided.

"Yeah, somehow I think what we were going to be doing was going to be _so much better_."

"Well…" I said, pulling him closer. "Who said we don't get to do that too?"

"You just told Letty you had to get ready…"

"Leon, Leon, Leon…" I sighed, shaking my head like I was chastising a child. "When have I ever taken 45 minutes to get ready?"

Suddenly Leon's eyes lit up and he got that mischievous look on his face.

"Girl," He said, swooping me up off the counter. "You don't even _know_ what you do to me."

I couldn't wait to find out.


	54. Chapter 52

When we got over to Dom's, Letty all but bombarded Amber.

"You got the scissors?" She asked.

"Uh, yeah…" Amber said, sounding confused. "What do you need me to do?"

"Come with me." Letty said, grabbing Amber's hand.

"Nice to see you too, Letty." I grumbled.

"Pfft." Letty snorted with a wave of her hand. "Like I don't see you everyday. Why don't you go keep Dom and Vince busy? I gotta steal your girlfriend for awhile."

"Yeah, whatever." I said as I gave Amber a quick kiss. "Don't let them talk you into anything crazy!"

"Yeah, whatever." Letty laughed. "C'mon, she's upstairs…"

I thought about asking Letty who was upstairs, but thought the better of it. I didn't want to know.

"Yo!" I said, walking into the family room.

"What's up, man?" Vince nodded. "Where's your girl?"

"Lemme guess…" Dom said, a smile hinting on his lips. "They snatched her up didn't they?"

I shrugged. "What can I say? Didn't really have a choice and you can't argue with girls; Especially Letty."

"So what are they doing up there exactly?" Vince asked.

"No fucking idea." I said as I sat down.

We both looked at Dom.

"Hey, don't look at me. It's like a secret society up there and I _know_ I'm not invited." Dom said as he tossed me a beer.

I took a swig of my beer. "So who's up there with 'em?"

"That one chick we met at the garage. Jamie." Dom said absently.

"But I thought their project was over?"

"It is. Looks like Letty found a new friend." Dom said.

"Letty has a friend from _school_? A _girl_ at that?" I tried not to choke on my beer. "When the fuck did that happen?"

"I dunno." Dom said, his eyes stuck on the TV. "All I know is that she's going to the races with us tonight."

"Does she know about –" I pointed up at the ceiling and then at Dom.

"What? Are you a fuckin' mime or something?" Dom laughed, "No, she doesn't know and we aren't gonna say anything either."

"Hey man," I said, raising my hands in front of me, feigning defense. "Just checkin'"

We stopped that talking and finally focused on the game.

Vince stood up, "I'm gonna go see if there's anymore beer..." He turned to us, "You guys want one?"

"You know I do pumpkin." I grinned at him.

He stopped and shook his head, "One of these days, man…" He laughed.

"Yeah, but until then why don't you get me that beer, sweetheart?"

**


	55. Chapter 53

"So tell me why you have this walkie-talkie thingy again?" I asked Leon, holding it like it was a foreign object.

"Baby," Leon said, gently taking it out of my hands. "I told you: It's so I can talk to Hector."

I pointed to the dashboard, "What's the scanner for?"

He sighed. Poor guy must've felt like he was talking to a child. "To listen for the cops."

I looked around the interior of his car. It was a nice car, and it definitely stood out. A lot of people had come over to show their appreciation for it. It wasn't like you couldn't notice it; it was _yellow_ for crying out loud. I still felt funny sitting opposite of what I was used to. "You ever going to teach me to drive this thing?" I grinned at him.

Leon tilted his head back and let out a loud laugh. He didn't do that often, but it was nice to hear when he did.

"I'm serious!" I said, poking his arm. "Well?"

"I'm sorry, what was that? I was having horrible flashbacks of trying to teach you to drive a stick." He said, his face mocking seriousness.

"Oh, fuck off!" I laughed as I punched him in the shoulder. "I wasn't **that** bad."

He groaned and rubbed his neck, "I think I still have some neck damage from the whiplash."

"Fine. Whatever," I sniffed. "I don't wanna drive this stupid, yellow… _banana_ looking thing anyway."

Leon laughed again, and pulled leaned in closer to me, "You're cute you know that?"

"I'm completely serious." I said, looking away, trying to hide my smile. "This car is… not that great. And, yeah, I don't know if you know or not, but your seats and stuff are all screwed up. We're not in England."

"Baby, to some people, this car is the **shit** in the racing world; although I'd love to see their faces when you told them it was a stupid looking banana." He grinned.

"It was the only thing I could think of!" I sputtered. "God, I'm usually on point with my insults… what the hell is wrong with me tonight?"

"It must be my charming good looks that got you all distracted." Leon said, waggling his eyebrows.

I felt a bubble of giggles escape my lips. Then before I knew it, I was cracking up so hard; I almost slid out of my seat.

"Oh, ouch." Leon said, pretending to look wounded.

"Oh, God." I said, slapping my hand over my mouth to stifle the giggles. "I'm sorry, baby. You know I didn't mean it like that."

"Yeah," He said, giving me a quick kiss on the lips. "Better not of."

As Leon started to fiddle with the knobs on the police scanner, I looked out the window and saw Dom getting out of Letty's car to talk to that Hector guy. "You think she's nervous?" I asked.

"Hmm?" Leon asked completely distracted.

"Letty." I said.

"Oh, about what? Racing? Nah." Leon shook his head. "She's got it in the bag."

"I hope so." I sighed, still looking around. I noticed Jamie standing by Dom's car. Dom stopped talking with Hector and started talking to Jamie.

Suddenly I remembered something. "Hey!" I said, smacking Leon on the arm, completely startling him. "What's he think of her?"

"Jesus, woman." Leon muttered, as he rubbed his arm, "What does who think of who?"

"Vince. Jamie." I said slowly. "What does he think of Jamie?"

"Why does it matter what Vince thinks of Jamie?" Leon asked slowly. Suddenly, it was like a light bulb went off over his head. "Oh, God, you've gotta be kidding me."

I shook my head. "Nope, she likes him. A lot."

"But…why?" Leon asked, scrunching his face.

"Hell if I know." I shrugged. "Has he said anything to you about her?"

"No." He said. "And no, I'm not going to get it out of him either."

"Aw, come on! Wouldn't that be cool? We'd all be paired up… well, except Mia, but she'll find someone –"

"Yeah, **without** you guys intervening. Seriously, babe, what is it about girls that make them have to intrude anytime a guy and girl are in the same room?"

I smiled, "I like to see other people happy."

"Well," Leon smiled that smile of his. "I can think of a way you could make me happy –"

I gave him a look that shut him up mid-sentence.

"Alright Leon, you set?" A voice cackled over the walkie-talkie.

Leon straightened up and put his game face on, "Yeah, dawg. Let's do this."


	56. Chapter 54

"Girl, you _killed_ it!" I said, giving Letty a big hug as soon as we got back to the house.

"Those guys didn't even stand a chance." Amber added. "I'm so proud of you."

"Tell me about it. You shoulda seen her in the car." I said, rubbing my ear.

"Well it was exciting." Amber said sheepishly.

People were already showing up at the house, ready to celebrate Letty's victory.

"Come on," Amber said, pulling me into the house, "let's go get a drink."

I led all the way to the kitchen, fighting through the crowd that was beginning to form. I went to the fridge and pulled out 2 beers. I opened one and handed it to Amber.

"I still can't believe she won." Amber said, taking a drink. "I mean, I can… because it's Letty, but wow… that was amazing."

"Yeah, I know." I said, looking around. The place was starting to get pretty packed. It was like we were at a club or something.

"Come on…" I said, grabbing her hand. "Let's go sit somewhere."

We both finished our beers around the same time. I went back to the fridge and grabbed two more. I came back and handed Amber her beer.

"Thank you." She said quietly; almost sadly.

"What's wrong?" I asked, confused.

She shook her head. "Nothing."

"Am, what's wrong? Why you lookin' down?" I looked at her.

She took a deep breath. "You have to promise that you won't get mad."

I rolled my eyes, "Why? What's going on?"

"Promise." She insisted.

"I can't do that." I said slowly.

Amber took a drink of her beer and then looked at me for a moment. "Okay. It's not a big deal, but when you were up… you know, getting the beers or whatever… some guy came up to me and asked if he was next in line after you were done with me."

I blinked. "What?"

"Yeah, look it was stupid. He was just a moron. I don't know why I let that bother me. It's just… I mean, is that how people see me? Like I'm passed around or something? I mean, I guess it doesn't matter because the people whose opinions matter to me most know the truth." Amber said.

"Who was it?" I asked, looking around.

"Leon, no." Amber said grabbing my face and making me look at her. "It doesn't matter. Fuck, I shouldn't have said anything to you."

I looked around the room, wanting to find the motherfucker. I wanted to find him badly.

"Where is he?" I asked again.

"I'm not saying anything." Amber insisted, but I watched her eyes. For a second she looked past my shoulders and then looked down.

I turned and looked. I saw a guy standing in the corner, beer in his hand and a smug smile.

I turned back to Amber, "That him?" I nodded in the direction.

"Leon, please." She pleaded. "It's not worth it."

I ignored her as I stood up and set my beer on the coffee table. I thought about what I was going to say as I walked over there, but couldn't come up with anything rational. All of the scenarios ended with me bashing his fucking head in.

"What's up, man?" The guy smiled and nodded as I approached him.

"Yo, dawg." I said, nodding back. Fuck beating around the bush, "You got somethin' you wanna say?"

The guy just laughed and shrugged, "Is there a problem?"

"Yeah," I said moving closer. "I don't appreciate you making comments like that to my girl. You got anything you wanna say, you say it to me."

"Oh… oh, dude… I was just jokin' around…" he stuttered. "I didn't realize that it was like that with you guys –"

I knocked the beer out of his hand and pushed him against the wall. "Dawg, you better get the fuck out. _Now_."

"Leon!" Amber was suddenly next to me, grabbing my hand. "Leon, please… just let it go."

"I'm sorry –"He said, looking at Amber.

"Don't fuckin' look at her." I shoved him again. "Don't even fuckin' **talk** to her. Get the fuck out before I make you get the fuck out."

"Leon," Amber said again, this time she was pulling my arm. "Stop. It's not worth it."

"Dude… I'm sorry, I didn't know –" He stuttered again.

"Oh my God, will you just shut up and get the fuck outta here before he kicks your ass?" Amber snapped.

"Yo, Leon. Is there a problem?"

"Nah, Vince. I got it." I said, keeping my eyes on the asshole.

"You sure?" Vince asked again. I could tell from his voice that he was itching for a fight. All I had to do was say the magic words and this motherfucker would be done for.

"Yeah… he was just leavin'." I said, clenching my jaw. "Right?"

"Yeah… yeah…" the guy mumbled as he pushed past me and Amber, walking as fast as he could out of the room.

"You see him again, you let me know." I said to Vince.

"You ain't gonna see him again." Vince shook his head. "Fuckin' pussy almost pissed his pants. He ain't ever comin' back… 'less he's got a death wish."

I laughed. "Got that right. Hey, good lookin' out, bro."

"Anytime, man, anytime. I was really hopin' you'd let me kick his ass though." Vince grinned.

"I had it handled, sweet cheeks." I grinned back.

"Oh, God." Amber rolled her eyes. "You guys need to stop watching those goddamn Bruce Lee movies."

She turned to me, grabbed my hand and sighed, "What am I gonna do with you?"

"I never promised." I reminded her.

"I know, I know. But you could've showed a little restraint."

I snorted, "Pfft. What the hell do you think I was doing? If I hadn't restrained myself, that guy would be on the floor."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah so I've heard. C'mon, let's get outta here for awhile."


	57. Chapter 55

**

_**We enjoy warmth because we have been cold. We appreciate light because we have been in darkness. By the same token, we can experience joy because we have known sadness**__._

_--Unknown_

I drove to the edge of town where it was peaceful and the city looked like it was sparkling. We got out of the car and I laid a blanket on the hood.

"It's beautiful tonight." Amber murmured, looking up at the sky.

I lay back next to her and tucked my hands under my head and looked at her, "Yeah, it is."

"I love California." She sighed. "It's so…"

"Polluted?" I finished for her.

"No." Amber rolled her eyes. "It's just… different. Well I guess when you've never been outside of Denver, everything seems nice and different." She amended.

"What's it like? Denver I mean." I asked.

I could feel her shrug, "I don't remember it much anymore; don't really try to anyway."

She stayed quiet after that. I stole a quick glance at her and realized she was lost in thoughts.

"Sometimes I wonder how she is." She said suddenly as if we'd been having a conversation all along.

I didn't have to ask her who she was talking about. I knew a little about her mom but never pressed for details. All I knew was that she didn't have a great relationship with her and that she had a rocky past.

"I don't know why… I doubt she even thinks about me. She was never around, and when she was, all she did was bitch at me… telling me how worthless I was, or how she couldn't ever look at me because I reminded her of my father. For the longest time I actually believed what she said. I really thought I was this worthless mistake. I can remember all the times that I would look in the mirror and hate myself. I would point out every flaw I had and just… wish I could change _everything_. I tried so many times. I tried to be the daughter she wanted me to be, but it never was enough. She would come home from wherever she was, drugged out and wouldn't even acknowledge me. She'd bring these guys home and tell them not to even bother looking at me… tell them that I was nothing. When Dwayne, her second husband, starting paying attention to me, she lost it." She stopped for a moment and shuddered.

I wanted to do more than just sit there and listen to her pour her heart out. I wanted to grab her and tell her I loved her as I kissed her everywhere; anything that would comfort her.

"Baby, you don't have to talk about this, you know." I said softly.

"Yes I do, Leon." She said, her voice breaking just a little. "I've kept this in for a long time. I've never told anyone about anything…"

I moved my hand from under my head and laced my fingers with hers, encouraging her to continue.

"He never got a chance to… you know." She said softly. "He was like this big, drunken bear. He would paw at you but if you were firm with him, he'd stop. Their marriage didn't even stand a chance. They were two different people when they weren't drunk or high. And when he realized that and left her, she blamed it on me."

She looked over at me, her big brown eyes looking sadder than I'd ever seen, "I look back now and think about how close I was to becoming just like her. I… I should've known better, doing that shit with Jason and Jordan." She smiled ruefully. "Sometimes I think about the drugs and it's almost like I _miss_ it… and that scares the hell out of me. Almost like it's my fate or something…"

I couldn't sit by and just listen anymore. She was hurting and I needed to do something… say something to make it better.

"I love you too much to let it happen," I said softly. "And you're not going to turn out that way because you're so much better than that."

"Oh God," Amber laughed, covering her face with her hands, "I don't deserve you. You're way too good for me."

I faked a sigh, "Yeah, I know."

"Shut up!" Amber laughed, shoving me so hard I almost fell off the car. "You're so full of it."

No matter how hard she fell, Amber always managed to bounce right back. It was so like her to be able to laugh after talking about something so miserable. She always seemed to look at the better side of everything.

I grabbed her hands and slid her off the hood of the car, pulling her into a hug. "But seriously, if you ever need anything… just tell me. I'll do whatever I can…you name it and I'll do it."

She looked up and smiled at me, "I'm pretty sure I have everything I need… well, except for that new Louis Vuitton bag…"

"Now you're pushin' it." I laughed as I opened her door for her.

**


	58. Chapter 56

We made our way back to Dom's in time to see people leaving.

"Oh, shit." I said, looking at my watch. "It's 3:00."

"Didn't seem like we were gone for that long." Leon said, getting out of the car.

"You think everyone's still up?" I asked.

"I dunno." Leon shrugged. "Let's go check."

We walked in the house to find it completely trashed. There were beer cans and bottles of alcohol everywhere. We walked into the family room and found everyone there, watching TV.

"Where the fuck have you guys been?" Dom asked, tearing his eyes away from the TV.

I shrugged. "Just went for a drive."

"Oh, is that what they call it nowadays?" Vince grinned.

"Shut up." I said, rolling my eyes.

"Alright," Mia sighed. "This is boring. Why don't we watch a movie or something?"

We spent 10 minutes debating on what movie to watch. Leon wanted to watch The Crow, but Mia, Letty and I banded together and shot the idea down. Brandon Lee was hot and all, but a girl can only take so much. Mia suggested Thelma and Louis, which Vince protested against. After joking around, Dom finally took over and threw on Die Hard 3.

Leon and I settled into the big chair. I lay across his lap. Dom and Letty were on the couch, his arm around her. Jamie had already passed out on the floor and Vince was lying next to her. Mia was on the floor too, starting to get into the movie.

My eyes started feeling heavy sometime during Bruce Willis getting the shit kicked out of him… _again_. I could feel Leon running his fingers across my arm and that didn't help fighting off sleepiness.

"Bruce Willis is a bad ass motherfucker." I heard Vince say.

"Hell yeah he is." Leon laughed.

Then I was out like a light.


	59. Chapter 57

I woke up around 9 o clock. I stretched out my arms and legs and looked over to see Leon still asleep. I moved slowly and carefully, making sure I didn't wake him. Sitting on the edge of the couch, I rolled my head to get out the kinks and knots. I looked around and saw that Mia was gone, and so were Dom and Letty. I saw Jamie and Vince, in the same spot they were before, but this time Jamie was practically on top of him and Vince had his arms wrapped around her. I let out a little squeal and without even thinking, I swatted Leon's arm.

"Hm?" Leon mumbled, his eyes barely open.

"Leon!" I hissed. "Baby, look."

"What?" Leon asked, shaking off the sleep.

"Look at that. Tell me that isn't cute." I grinned.

He focused on where I was pointing and cracked a grin. "Well look at Coyote."

"Oh my God." I sighed. "That's just so adorable."

"Oh God," Leon groaned. "Not this shit again…"

I looked at him and glared. "What?"

"Vince and adorable don't even belong in the same sentence. He's going to flip out when he wakes up." Leon said.

"Oh, please!" I rolled my eyes. "How do you know that Vince isn't cuddling with her because he wants to?"

He looked at me like I had just confessed to murdering clowns or something, "Um, maybe because Vince doesn't cuddle? If V wanted to get in her pants like that, it would've been a done deal by now."

"Guys are such pigs." I said, pushing myself off the couch and going into the kitchen.

"What? What I'd say?" Leon asked, following me.

"What ever happened to romance?" I asked, grabbing a coffee cup from the cupboard. "What happened to chivalry and all the shit?"

"'Chivalry and all that _shit_'?" Leon asked disbelievingly. "How lady like of you. Anyway, just 'cause V isn't all about romancing the ladies and shit doesn't make all men pigs. In fact, just because Vince is the way he is doesn't necessarily make him a pig either. He's a single guy and he's allowed to have fun."

I looked at Leon, my eyebrows raised. Was he really defending Vince for being a man-whore? Well, obviously he was; guys tended to stick together on shit like that. It was like a guy code or something. I knew Vince didn't have a monogamous bone in his body, so why did I feel surprised at Leon's blunt assessment of him? Maybe it was because the more I had been around Jamie, the more I liked her. Even though I couldn't understand why out of all the guys in the world, Vince appealed to her. I didn't want to see her get hurt. She was a nice girl who deserved much better.

"Well whatever." I said with a wave of my hand; I didn't feel like arguing over morals, it was way too early. "You want some coffee?"

"Do you even need to ask?" Leon asked, kissing my cheek. "Today's gonna be awesome."

"Ah." I nodded as I poured two cups. "It's Sunday. Raiders on today?"

"You know it." Leon said, already enthusiastic. "They are going to _kick ass_."

"This means I should probably stay clear in case they don't win." I sighed. "You and Vince are going to be at it like crazy. Yeah, I should probably stay clear."

"It's not my fault he likes to pick whatever teams are playing against mine." Leon pointed out. "It's also not my fault that the teams he picks also happen to suck."

I took a sip of my coffee, "You do have a point there. So what time does the game start anyway?"

"One o' clock, baby!" Leon said, grabbing the creamer.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I'm in need of a shower." I sighed.

I was thankful that I was smart enough to leave some of my clothes behind at Dom's. Considering how much time I spent between Leon's and here, I wasn't even surprised. I might as well have officially moved in.

"I hear ya on that one." Leon nodded. "Come on, let's go do it now before everyone wakes up and hogs the bathrooms…"


	60. Chapter 58

When we got out of the shower and dressed (well, I was officially dressed for the day; Leon settled for his usual, sweatpants and a white wife beater.) everyone was practically up. Dom was going out the door as we came down the stairs; Mia was in the family room with Vince and Jamie who were sitting together on the couch. As Leon and I settled on the couch, I tried to hide my smile while I tried dissecting Vince and Jamie's body language.

"Letty still knocked out?" Leon asked.

Vince shrugged. "Beats me; haven't seen her all morning though, so prolly."

"Well maybe I should go wake her up." Jamie suggested thoughtfully. "It's almost 11…"

And suddenly, we all objected at once. Poor Jamie looked startled by everyone's sudden interest in talking all of the sudden. We couldn't let Jamie go upstairs and bug Letty for a couple of reasons, but the main one being Jamie seeing Letty sleeping in Dom's room, in his bed. She still didn't know about them and no one knew whether it would be wise to let her in on it or not.

"No." Mia said quickly. "Letty's not much of a morning person…"

"Right." Leon quickly agreed. "She has the tendency to be…"

"…a major bitch if you woke her up." I finished for him.

"O-kay…" Jamie said under her breath.

"So where's Dom headed?" Leon asked.

"I dunno." Vince shrugged.

"Do you know _anything_?" Leon scoffed.

"I know that the Packers are going to _murder_ the Raiders." Vince grinned.

"Oh, God…" I sighed. The game hadn't even started and the bickering was already happening.

"Is that so, Coyote?" Leon asked, chuckling. "Are you willing to bet money on that?"

"Hell yeah." Vince said, leaning forward rubbing his hands together. "How much we talkin'?"

I decided that John Madden's inconsistent blabbering on the preshow was probably more entertaining than those two.

I must've lost track of time watching Madden gushing over Bret Favre because Letty walked into the family room with a smile on her face and a bagel and orange juice in her hands.

"So who's playing?" Letty asked.

"Raiders." Leon replied, craning his head around Letty to focus on the TV.

"Figures." Letty muttered as she settled down next to Jamie. "So V, who you rooting for?"

"For anybody **but** the Raiders!" Mia laughed.

"Well shit, girl," Letty grinned, "tell me something I **didn't** know, wouldya?"

"Packers." Vince replied, grinning back at Letty.

"Oooh! Bret Favre." Mia squealed. "He's cute!"

I tried to hold back a laugh and ended up failing miserably, "Yeah, whatever, Mia."

"He is!" Mia insisted.

I thought about it for a moment and couldn't bring myself to agree. Bret Favre was just too all American for my tastes. "Yeah, if you like preppy white boys, I guess…"

"Hey now!" Leon threw a pillow at me, "You love this white boy!"

I didn't even realize Leon allowed his attention span to wander away from the preshow. I opened my mouth to protest but Letty saved me. "She said **preppy** white boys, Leon." She laughed, looking him over, "And somehow I don't think you qualify!"

Dom came walking in the door just then. He looked rushed. When Leon had asked where he'd went, Dom just kinda got all mysterious and said he had stuff to take care of. No one asked him anything after that. The opening kick off was about to happen and that's just about all the guys could focus on.

"So you know anything about football, Jamie?" Vince asked, draping his arm on the back of the couch so it rested on Jamie's shoulders. "Or you just as much of a virgin to that as you were to racing cars?"

"You'll just have to wait and see…" Jamie said laughing nervously.

I tried to be incognito once again, as I went over their body language. Jamie didn't even move away from his arm when he'd put it over her shoulder and Vince was definitely flirting, that was for sure. I knew that I was smiling that stupid, cheesy ass smile that I'd get when I was excited about something. I caught Letty's eyes and we both immediately started cracking up.

"What are you two laughing at?" Vince asked suspiciously, looking back and forth at us.

"Oh, nothing." I teased, still grinning.

I didn't care what Leon had said; from what I'd just witnessed, it looked like Vince and adorable _could_ be used in the same sentence.


	61. Chapter 59

Towards the end of the game – when the Raiders were obviously kicking the Packers asses and definitely going to win the game -- the girls decided to head out to Jerry's to get that quality girl time shit, and to, no doubt, gush and giggle about Vince and Jamie. I decided to head to the shop and get a head start on some of the cars we'd just gotten in.

Vince and Dom came in not too long after, looking ready to get to work.

"Yo, dawgs," I nodded to them, "What up? You get tired of waiting for the girls to get back?"

"Yeah, whatever," Dom laughed as he went over to the mustang and started to get to work.

I looked at Vince for a moment, and started thinking about what Amber and me talked about this morning. I told her I wasn't going to get involved with any of their shit, but now I was starting to get curious; not to mention I knew I would get bonus points with Amber if I had something to report to her when she got back. Acting as casual as possible, I went to the toolbox and started digging through it, looking for a ratchet. "So V, uh… what up with you and Jamie?"

"What?" Vince asked, sounding surprised.

Uh… you know, you seem kinda into each other, so I was just wondering…"

"Amber put you up to asking, didn't she?" Dom said, laughing.

I could feel my face flush as I shrugged my shoulders, "Well, she might have…"

"Yeah, I got the same talk from Letty **and** Mia." Dom said, rolling his eyes.

Vince chose to ignore us and I all about gave up on getting an answer. I sure the fuck didn't want to be the one to nag him about it.

"So?" Dom asked, much to my relief.

"What?" Vince asked. "Shit, Dom, you really want an answer?"

"The girls would kick our asses if we don't tell them **something**; and you know it. So come on…" Dom pointed out.

Vince shrugged, "I dunno. She's a cute girl, and pretty cool; not the goody two shoes I thought she was when I first met her, y'know?"

"Yeah…so…you into her? Enough to keep her around for a while?" Dom asked, point blank.

"I…no…yes…shit, I dunno…" Vince muttered. "She's kinda hot…but… Why the fuck would she want me? She's all smart and shit…prolly go to Harvard or something like that… What the fuck would she want with a guy like me?"

The man did have a point. Which brought up mine, "If you figure out how women think, dawg…we'd never have to work another day in our lives?" I laughed.

"C'mon V," Dom said, tossing a rag at his chest. "You're a good guy…a **dumb** guy, sometimes, but good all the same. Don't take a genius to see that. And girls love that shit…the good guy who looks like a bad boy…"

I threw a glance at Vince and then looked at Dom.

"Dude, you been reading Mia's Cosmos again?" I asked, grinning at me.

"You need to shut the fuck up before I beat your ass," Dom said, pointing his fist at me. "Besides, anything that keeps me even half a step ahead of Letty's brain…"

"You've got a point there…" I laughed.

We went back to working on the cars; where it was pretty quiet for some time until it was just about time to head back to the house.

"So, uh…" I said as we were walking out the door, "what should we tell the girls?"

"Why don't you tell them to mind their own damn business and leave me the fuck alone?" Vince shot back.

"They just want to see you happy…" I started.

"'Sides," Dom added, "I don't think Mia's capable of minding her own business…"

"Yeah…whatever," Vince said, shaking his head. "Tell them…tell them I kinda dig Jamie, but I just wanna see what happens with it. I don't wanna rush anything, or force it… Whatever happens will happen, right?"

"Damn, V," I laughed, "that's almost deep…"

"Yeah," Dom said, grinning. "You sure **you** haven't been reading Mia's Cosmos?"

We were practically laughing all the way home after that one.


	62. Chapter 60

**

"Hey!" I said, practically falling onto the couch when I got home. "You miss me?"

"Of course." Leon grinned, pulling me onto his lap. "You have fun?"

I thought about it for a moment, "Yeah." I nodded. "Yeah, I did."

"Why do you look so down then?" Leon asked his hands lightly stroked my arm.

"Do I?" I asked, wrinkling my nose. I hadn't meant to come off as depressed or anything like that. I had just been thinking of a lot of things after hanging out with Jamie.

"What's up?" Leon asked.

I sighed, "It's nothing. We were hanging out, having fun, you know? Then Letty and Mia started grilling Jamie, you know, the whole tradition. Jamie is a really awesome girl. She has a great head on her shoulders, you know? Feisty, too. Anyway… she talked a little bit about her family and some of the things… they just kinda hit home except not really." I wasn't even sure if I was making sense to Leon or not, but I kept babbling anyway. "She has an older sister, Carly, who doesn't live at home anymore. Guess she was the rebellious one and all that shit. Typical teenager, did the drugs, in and out of rehab, all that fun stuff; anyway, I guess she met a guy during high school, they dated for awhile, she got pregnant, Jamie's parents tried giving her an ultimatum: abortion or being disowned. I guess she chose being disowned because she and her boyfriend moved to Florida where he went to school on his football scholarship and she's getting her degree to be an RN. They both work their asses off to support their daughter and she's happy." I finished quickly.

"Okay…" Leon said slowly. "So what part of this is depressing?"

"Oh!" I sighed. "None of it really. It just got me thinking, you know? If this girl can kick the habit and manage to live a functional and happy life, then I have a good shot, right? I mean, her parents disowned her and she's okay. I'll never have the relationship that I want with my mom and I'm worried that it's going to affect me later on in life…maybe it doesn't have to be that way."

"I've been telling you that for awhile, babe…" Leon said.

"I know." I smiled. "It's just nice to see someone out there who's kinda screwed up, succeed in the end. I think about Jason and Jordan and sometimes I think that that's my only option for an outcome. I don't want to wake up one morning, bitter about anything I did or didn't do in life, y'know?"

"Nah." Leon said his voice full of conviction. "Everything in life is an experience and you can't have the good without the bad; how do you think we become the people we are?"

I looked at Leon through narrowed eyes, "Have you been reading one of Mia's magazines or something? That was _really_ deep."

"What the fuck is up with everyone acting deep lately?!" Leon sighed.

I raised my eyebrows and looked at him, "You completely lost me…"

"Whatever, it's not important. Anyway, I talked to Vince…" Leon said casually.

"And?"

"Oh, what?" Leon asked, feigning ignorance. "Sorry what was I saying?"

"You talked to Vince…" I said slowly.

"Oh, right. Yeah, and he likes her, thinks she's cute but wants to wait it out; he isn't sure if he wants to pursue it or not…" Leon said slowly, obviously trying not to fuck up what Vince had said.

"So he does like her?" I asked, grinning.

"Yeah, I think that's what he said anyway…" Leon frowned.

"Well, it seems like he does. Aw, that's great for Jamie. She really likes him and she was kinda getting the vibe that Vince wasn't into her like that…"

"What is it with girls and their _vibes_?" Leon asked. "It's like every move needs to be scrutinized for a confirmation or something. Can't a girl realize that a guy can like her without being all over her?"

"Leon, its **Vince**." I snorted. "When is he **not** all over another girl? And how do you think Jamie feels? She's not a stupid girl; she knows Vince's rep and he still hasn't made a move that shows that he's interested in her like that…"

"Okay, so you got a point." Leon said. "But can you guys please just lay off him for awhile? Let him take whatever pace he wants to take. If Jamie's willing to be patient, I guess that's all the matters."

"Point taken." I nodded.

"So, you stayin' here tonight or what?" Leon asked, pulling me closer to him.

I moved myself so I was straddling him. "Hm." I said, pretending to think about it. "I dunno… I should get home…"

"Now why would you wanna do that?" He asked as his fingers found their way to the curve of my neck and started to stroke lightly; He knew my weaknesses way too well.

"God," I sighed, leaning forward and laying my head on his shoulder. I took in his scent and loved it. I knew he'd been at the shop today, but he had shaved and showered when he got home; his face was all smooth and he smelled like Irish Springs soap.

"Where's Letty?" I asked as I kissed his neck.

"Dom's." Was all he said.

"So we're alone then, huh?" I asked, moving my mouth to his chin and finally reaching his lips.

"Mmhmm." He said, kissing me back. I felt his hands slide under my shirt and rest on the small of my back. Unconsciously, I started to grind my hips and the kisses started to deepen. His hands slid up even further and I felt the quick smooth motion of him undoing my bra. He was becoming a pro at doing it one handed. I pulled away for a moment so I could pull my shirt over my head.

I knew that I probably looked ridiculous right then; my lips felt swollen from the kissing and my bra straps were sliding off my shoulders. I'd never had the confidence to show off my body. I wasn't the size 2 that most girls in LA were. Leon would always tell me that he loved my body; he'd tell me that my tits were the perfect size as he cupped them in his hands. He'd tell me that he loved my ass and that my legs were endless. He'd shower my stomach with kisses and he'd even kiss my freckles. The way that he would look at me sometimes… it was like I was the only person in the world. Looking at him just then, even as ridiculous as I felt in that moment, the lust and want in his eyes just made me disregard all my insecurities. I knew that look on his face; he bit his lower lip, his green eyes sparkling with hunger. That was Leon's _'I wanna fuck you so hard'_ face and I loved it.

I shrugged my bra off and his eyes lit up even more. His mouth instantly went to my tits and started sucking on my nipples. I didn't even try to hold back the groan. His hands we're on the sides of my face as he pulled me to him and resumed kissing me again. With my hands free, I reached down under me and felt him; yep, he was definitely ready to go. I stroked his dick through his jeans, getting the reaction I wanted. He groaned lowly, and the kisses got more urgent. I slowly pulled away from him and slid off his lap, much to his protest.

I stood up in front of him and Leon pushed himself to the edge of the couch. His arms wrapped around my waist as his hands cupped my ass and pulled me forward. When I was where he wanted me to be, his fingers moved to the buttons on my jeans. I ran my fingers through his hair as planted kisses on my stomach. Finally, I felt the jeans slowly slide off of my waist; Leon's hands pulling them down even further. With the jeans finally off, I pushed Leon back onto the couch with one hand, while I maneuvered my way back on his lap. I reached down and pulled his shirt over his head, tossing it to the side. I knew that Leon was enjoying every minute of it; he loved it when I took control.

I ran my fingers lightly over his arms, feeling his muscles twitch under my touch. One thing about Leon that's just mind blowing is that he has a lot of patience. I can't tell you how many times I've fucked with him in moments like this and he just exuded nothing but patience. Then again, a man can only do so much so it didn't surprise me one bit when he let out a growl and regained the control from me. The next thing I knew, I was on my back on the couch and Leon was on top of me, ready to go.

His movements were so quick and lithe, that I didn't even realize that he had taken his pants or his boxers off. I thanked my lucky stars that Letty decided to stay at Dom's house that night; I didn't want to have to control how loud I tended to be. I let out a groan as his fingers pulled my panties from my waist and down to my ankles. And suddenly, without warning, he was inside me.

I didn't have time to think about anything just then; the next thing I knew, I was in pure heaven.


	63. Chapter 61

**

_**It is the things in common that make relationships enjoyable, bit it is the little differences that make them interesting.**__  
-- Todd Ruthman_

"I think we need to do that more often…" Amber murmured as she ran her fingers through my hair.

We were sitting on the couch watching TV, except not really; her legs were thrown over mine. I couldn't help but give her a once over. She was in nothing but one of my jerseys and looked damn good too.

"Letty would kill us if she knew what we just did…" Amber smirk.

"Yeah, but she doesn't and she won't…" I grinned. "'Sides, she practically lives at Dom's now…"

I wasn't sure if that bothered me or not. I knew my mom still thought that Letty was still living with me and technically she was; she just spent a lot of her time at Dom's. I didn't think she suspected anything between Dom and Letty, even though they'd been together for over a year. I didn't mind Letty being over there, I just hoped that everything worked out between them. As soon as I had those thoughts, I'd dismissed them. Dom loved Letty more than anything else in the world, and the same went for Letty. They were perfect for each other; definitely brought out the best in each other. I remembered Dom's reaction when Miguel, a guy from Letty's school stopped by the shop to look for Letty. She had been out with Mia and Amber, so he'd gotten Dom instead. Needless to say, Dom was not happy about that. Dom knew Miguel's deal and the most Miguel knew about Dom was that he was Letty's **ex** boyfriend… if our façade was to be believed anyway. I had to admit, that Miguel kid had balls. The look that Dom gave him when Miguel admitted to wanting to ask Letty out would've made any grown man piss his pants; but junior stood his ground, ran his mouth off to Dom a little, and still managed to live to fight another day. I couldn't picture Letty with someone like Miguel though. He was a good kid and I think that was part of the problem; Letty wouldn't wanna be with someone who couldn't handle her. She liked her fights and liked it even more if someone could argue back with her. Miguel was the type that would back down in an instant and agree with everything she said. Yeah, she and Dom complimented each other well.

"Well," I said casually. "You know, since Letty's practically living at Dom's and you're practically here all the time, why don't you think about making it more… permanent?"

Amber looked at me, her eyes wide as hell. "You serious?"

I shrugged, "Why not? I mean, you're over here all the time…"

"Yeah." Amber agreed. "I don't know. I mean, it's something to think about…"

"Wait." I said, trying not to get confused about the situation. "What's there to think about? I mean, we've been together for how long now? And you're paying for an apartment that you're barely even at."

"I don't know. I mean, I love being over here with you, but I like having my own place too, y'know? It's nice to go home to a quiet place every now and again…" Amber said.

"I don't follow…" I said, trying not to feel insulted.

"It's hard to explain… I just like having that time to go home and regroup. I mean not every night can be a party and you know that if we were around each other 24/7, we'd end up killing each other eventually…"

"No, I don't know." I frowned. "We're getting along right now; have been all this time. Not to mention you've been staying over here how often? So, no, I'm really not understanding your point."

"It's not that big of a deal." Amber insisted. "I just don't think I'm ready to take that step yet, is all."

"Okay." I said, moving her legs so I could get up. "Fine, whatever."

"Why are you so mad?" Amber asked slowly.

I shrugged. "I'm not."

"Oh bullshit!" Amber rolled her eyes. "I can tell when you get mad and this is one of those times."

"Maybe I'm a little upset because my _girlfriend_ doesn't want to move in with me." I mumbled.

"So? Big fucking deal!" Amber said, moving towards me. "We've been together for over a year, I don't understand why it's a big deal now. We've been fine so far…"

Truth is it took a lot for me to make that suggestion to Amber about moving in. It was a big step on my part, because I never thought that I'd ever find someone that I wanted to… well, basically spend the rest of my life with; not this easy, at least. As far as I knew, everything was going great for us. Our relationship couldn't have been more solid. So naturally I thought that she'd agree to it. I mean, with Letty gone at Dom's all the time, it would've been nice to have someone else around more and Amber was the perfect one to have…

I couldn't help but feel offended when she'd basically said no. I knew my pride had taken a hit.

"Look, it doesn't matter." I snapped. I didn't want to discuss it anymore.

I could tell from the look on her face that she was starting to get pissed off about the whole thing; which meant that she wasn't going to drop the subject no matter how much I'd wanted her to.

"Okay, whatever." Amber snapped back. "I just think we should think about it a little more. Everything is going awesome with us right now and I don't wanna ruin it. Can you imagine how irritable you can get with someone once you start living with them? I'll bitch about how I want things a certain way, and you'll argue with me about it; just like you always do. 'Sides, I don't like being around 8 billion people like you do. I think I'd go insane if I have to deal with having parties after races all the time."

"But I don't always have the parties here!" I pointed out. "It's mainly at Dom's."

"Yeah, but there are times when it **is** here." Amber shot back. "And I can barely stand being around half those people anyway… you know that. I just think it's a bad idea right now…"

"Well when the fuck will it ever seem like good idea?" I retorted. "As far as the shit you talked about goes, nothing's gonna change in that department. We irritate each other right now anyway, obviously, and the races are part of my life, so are the people involved."

"Well I guess we'll see how I feel about it at a time that **isn't** _now_!" Amber snapped as she walked to my room and shut the door. I sighed and threw myself on the couch and mindlessly flipped through the channels.

A moment later, Amber came out, dressed in her clothes.

"Where are you going?" I sighed as she grabbed her purse from the coffee table and slung it on her shoulder.

"**Home.**" She muttered and walked out the door.

"Oh God…" I muttered as I rolled my eyes and walked out after her. I didn't even realize that the only thing I had on were a pair of sweatpants that were a little loose around the waist. "Amber, wait!" I said, trying to catch up to her while I held onto the waist of my pants.

She stopped and turned around abruptly. "Look, Leon. I'm irritated right now and you know how that works. If I'm irritated while _I'm_ here it will only make _you_ irritated and that's **not** a good combination. So I'm going to go back to my place and sleep there for tonight, okay?"

Her words were so rushed that I didn't even have a chance to respond. She was gone just like that and I just stood there in the driveway, wondering what the fuck just happened.

**


	64. Chapter 62

I walked out into the kitchen the next morning to find Letty sitting at the table, eating a bagel.

"Hey." I said, heading straight for the coffee.

"Hey." Letty replied. "Where's Amber?"

"Home." I said nonchalantly as I grabbed the creamer from the cupboard.

"Oh wow, that's rare." Letty laughed. "I woulda thought you two would've been tied at the hip since I stayed with Dom last night…"

I didn't bother saying anything to that; the last thing I needed was Letty to start asking questions and God knew she would.

"Wait," Letty said, turning around to focus on me completely. "You guys get in a fight or something?"

"No. What makes you say that?" I scoffed.

"I dunno… I just think it's weird. She _should_ be here, but she's not. I know she doesn't have to work today so that can't be the reason. You guys did get into an argument, didn't you?" Letty gasped.

"Believe what you want." I said as I took a sip of my coffee and walked out of the kitchen.

"C'mon, Leon… what happened?" Letty asked, following me.

"Nothing big. It was stupid, we're fine." I insisted.

"Mmhmm." Letty said, narrowing her eyes.

"Why are you all concerned? I don't get all up in your and Dom's business, do I?" I snapped.

"Well that's because any argument Dom and I do have, everyone's usually around to witness; and besides, when I do get irritated with Dom, I don't care who knows…" Letty said.

She had a point there, but that didn't mean I was going to start telling her all my problems.

"So what happened?" Letty asked again. "You guys break up?"

"No." I scoffed. "Well actually I don't know. One minute we were okay and the next thing I know, we're having a disagreement and she left." I amended.

"Hm." Letty furrowed her brows. "I don't know, Leon. Maybe you should call her?"

"Yeah, I was planning on it." I said.

I'd barely slept the night before because I couldn't stop thinking about what went wrong. I guess I should've just dropped the subject when I had the chance. We both had way too much pride to just back down and let it go. With the little sleep I did get, I woke up with the resolution that I was going to apologize to her; I knew she was only being honest with her answer.

"Well it looks like you won't have to wait long…" Letty murmured as moved towards the window. "Someone definitely got the head start this morning." She turned around and grinned at me.

"Shit." I muttered, pushing Letty out of the way as I peered through the drapes. "What the fuck is she doing up this early anyway?"

Letty raised an eyebrow at me, "What are **you** doing up this early? She prolly didn't expect you to be up this early either. What does it matter anyway? I thought you were all ready to apologize?"

"I am." I sputtered. "I just wanted to make sure I worded it right is all." I moved away from the window and threw a flustered look at Letty, "She's walking up now. Why don't you go to your room or somethin?"

"Yeah," Letty snorted. "And miss you two potentially killing each other? Not gonna happen."

"Letty…" I warned.

"Fine." Letty grumbled as she took her time going to her room.

I moved to the door and swung it open before Amber had a chance to knock. She looked a little surprised to see me standing right in front of her, especially this early. I silently scolded myself over my enthusiasm. Suddenly I wished I'd just let her knock while I did my best to look like I was doing other things rather than waiting for her.

"Hey." She said quietly.

"Hey." I replied.

She nodded behind me. "Can I come in?"

"Yeah, of course." I said, moving to the side so she could come in.

"So Letty's home now, huh?" She smiled a little.

"Yeah, she got home sometime this morning I guess…"

She looked around and then back at me. "So where is she?"

I nodded towards the hall. "Her room, I think. Look, I need to –"

"No. I'm the one that should apologize." Amber said as she stepped forward.

"I was being ridiculous." I insisted.

"Leon," Amber sighed. "I shouldn't have gotten mad. I should've been flattered that you wanted me to move in with you. I completely got defensive about it and I shouldn't have."

"If you don't wanna move in, that's fine." I said, pulling her closer to me. "Really."

"Okay." She smiled and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Petty shit like that doesn't even matter." I murmured. "I mean, you know I love you, right?"

For some reason, those words weren't something we said too often. The first time we said it to each other, it was in a passing conversation. After being together for well over a year, I knew Amber had known how I felt about her; Shit, **I** knew how she felt about **me**. Telling her that I loved her had come so easily for me each and every time I'd said it.

Without looking at her, I knew that when I'd said it right there, she was smiling a goofy smile. Her arms tightened around my waist even more as I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

**


	65. Chapter 63

"So what's going on with you and Miguel?" Leon asked Letty as she grabbed a soda out of the fridge.

Letty turned around and glared at him; if looks could kill.

"What?" Leon shrugged. "It was just a question. Jesus."

I looked back and forth between both of them and cracked a grin, "Why? What's going on with Miguel?"

I'd seen Miguel a couple of times and maybe met him once. Letty would bitch to me about how he's always trying to ask her to go out places and, naturally Letty would get really irritated with him. Me and Mia would try to tell her that Miguel was interested in her like that and Letty would shoot the idea down; she was so oblivious to male attention.

I looked at Leon so he could give me more information but he was stuck in a staring contest with Letty. I nudged him and he finally looked at me, a huge grin on his face. "Miguel stopped by the shop the other day…"

"No shit?" I laughed and threw a glance at Letty. "While Dom was there?"

Letty let out a loud sigh and slammed her soda on the coffee table. "Shut up, Leon." She glared.

"Yeah." Leon said, ignoring Letty completely. "Dom wasn't too happy about it…"

"Well what'd he want?" I asked. "Leon!" I nudged him again, trying to get him to stop silently torturing Letty. "What did he want?" I repeated.

"Apparently he wanted to ask me out." Letty sniffed.

"Wow." I mouthed. "Dom didn't kill him?"

"Nah." Leon shook his head. "He was a little pissed off at first, but he got over it…"

"Well he shouldn't be pissed." Letty muttered. "I've _tried_ to let Miguel know I'm not interested without saying outright that I'm not single, but obviously that doesn't seem to be working…"

"Well I think it's cute." I smiled. "Anytime someone shows interest in you is kinda flattering, right?"

Both Leon and Letty just looked at me; Letty like I had grown a second head and Leon with raised eyebrows

"Who's been flirting with **you**?" He asked.

"I'm just sayin'…" I rolled my eyes as I tried to hide my smile.

I had to admit that I let that one slip on purpose. I wasn't an insecure person by any means, but it was nice to get a reaction out of Leon every now and then; it was just a reassurance that he paid attention.

"If there's some dude at work tryin' to get with you, I'mma beat his ass." Leon pointed at me.

"Nice way to _overreact_, Leon." Letty laughed.

"Hey, I'm not a jealous person, alright?" Leon insisted. "I just don't like the thought of someone else flirting with my girl."

"Oh, Lord." I sighed. "You know how many times I've seen girls eye **you** at the races or at the parties? I know _exactly_ what they're thinking when they get that look in their eyes; Fuckin' skanks." I muttered.

"Yeah, well, I'm just happy that Dom didn't kill Miguel or something." Letty mumbled.

"He was tempted, but me and V were there so that wasn't gonna happen." Leon said.

"I can't wait for this shit with Julie to end." I said with a wave of my hand. "Then all this drama can end. I swear if it's not one thing, it's another."

"Yeah," Letty took a sip of her soda. "You're tellin' me."


	66. Chapter 64

I headed to the shop a little late the next day; Amber had to work a later shift so I'd decided that the later I got to the shop, the less time would pass before she got home. When I got to the shop, Dom and V were already there; Dom doing some paperwork and V working on a Ford.

"'Bout time you show up, Princess." Vince grinned at me.

"Yeah, yeah, shut the fuck up." I mumbled and looked around. "What we got on our plate today?"

"Not much. We got two just about ready to go." Vince said, nodding towards the back. "The ones we do have left aren't anything major; just clutches and small shit like that."

"Alright." I sighed as I headed towards a newer Ford Escort.

**

We'd stayed quiet for the couple of hours we spent working on the cars. Dom seemed completely lost in thought as he focused on paperwork. Every now and then me and Vince would joke around; other than that we just listened to the radio.

Mia came to the garage not too long after to give Dom a break on the paperwork.

He walked to the door and paused, "I'mma go get me somethin' to drink, anyone else want anything?" Dom asked.

"Nah I'm good, dawg." I said.

"Yeah, same here." Vince mumbled.

I heard footstep enter the garage soon after and I knew it was Letty. She always stomped when she walked, usually because she was irritated. I could tell just by hearing her walk into the office and shut the door that she was more irritated than usual.

I was struggling to pull the code off of the Escort I was working on when Letty came storming out into the shop after Dom.

"…So tell me, Dom, should I fuck Miguel too? Or maybe just suck his dick? You know, so then he can tell all the guys and they'll **really** believe we're not still together? You know, 'cause them seeing you all over Amber at the races wasn't quite enough to convince them. I mean, **everyone** knows that Dominic Toretto is God's gift to women, so of course I wouldn't mind if you cheated on me. Hell, the truth is most of 'em didn't think I was anything more than a fuck to you in the first place."

_Jesus Christ, what the fuck was going on now?_

I moved from behind the car and stood next to V who was watching what was going on. Mia was trying to pull Letty back by the arm, but Letty just kept going on and on.

"You hear that, Dom?" Letty snapped. "No one believes you actually love me, or that you ever did. At all. No one. And shit, with you this anxious for me to go out with another guy, not just a friend but a guy who **likes** me... Well, it makes it hard for even **me** to believe you ever loved me."

I fought back the temptation to jump in. I had never seen Letty so upset in my life, and that was saying a lot. Even when she'd went off on Amber and Dom that one night didn't compare. Things that happened that night had been a misunderstanding; Dom had obviously said something to Letty to set her off.

I crossed my arms across my chest and clenched my jaw as I looked back and forth between both of them; Dom looked taken back by Letty.

"It's awfully convenient for you, don't you think? This whole situation... You get a girlfriend - or whatever you'd call me, shit, I don't even know anymore. And you've got the perfect excuse to flirt with all the sluts who throw themselves at you." Letty sneered. "Honestly, I have to start wondering why you've gone along with this shit for so long. The Dom I **thought** I knew wouldn't ever let some punk like Johnny dictate his life like this. So you know what? Fuck you, Dom. You want me to go out with Miguel? Fine, I will. You want me to act like I don't have a man? Fine, I can do that too. But you'd better be careful, Dom, and know just what you're asking me to do. 'Cause this could all come real faster than a quarter-mile."

And with that, Letty stormed out. I heard her car door slam and her tires squeal as she peeled out of the parking lot.

I took a step forward, trying to think rationally before I spoke.

"What the fuck did you say to her, dawg?" I asked.

"Nothing!" Dom said defensively.

"He told her to go on a date with Miguel." Mia threw a dirty look at Dom before she looked at me.

What the fuck was he thinking when he told her that? All the time that I'd known Dom, I'd never gotten mad at him over his way of thinking or how he felt about things, but suddenly it all changed. Letty was crazy about him and he'd basically tried telling her how to live her life; that shit wasn't gonna fly… not today.

"What?" Vince asked, completely confused.

"Think, V," Dom insisted, "This'll really convince everyone that we're not together anymore. Besides, she needs to go out and do shit like that. It's not good for her to always be hanging out with us all the time! She needs to hang with people her own age once in a while…."

"I thought that's what Jamie was for…." Vince said, still confused.

I couldn't keep my mouth shut anymore. I didn't let shit get to me that often, but when it did, I did very little to hold it back.

"Man, you have everything all fucked up Dom, you know that?" I said. "Letty isn't a little girl…she can decide for herself whether she wants to hang out with us or not. And when the hell did it start mattering how old she is? Not like you haven't already been fucking her for a year…."

"That's not how it is, Leon…" Dom started.

"You know what? Forget it, Dom. I don't wanna hear it," I interrupted him, turning to walk out of the garage. "All I know is, I just saw my baby cousin get hurt, and if you hurt her anymore, I swear to God, I'll fuckin' kill you."


	67. Chapter 65

**

I ran home to my apartment after work to grab a change of clothes and head over to Leon's. Nothing prepared me for what I would find waiting there. As I approached my apartment, I saw two people sitting on the steps outside my door. I slowed my pace and gripped the keys in my hand as Jason and Jordan both stood when they saw me.

I hadn't spoken or seen either in over a year, and I knew why; I had absolutely nothing to say to them.

Jordan stepped forward first, pulling me into a tight hug, "Oh my God Amber!"

"Hey." I chuckled nervously and turned to Jason, giving him a half assed hug, "What are you guys doing here?"

I knew I shouldn't have even bothered asking because I knew the answer way too well; they had gotten kicked out of whoever's house they'd been squatting at for the last year, and I was the one to go to when things got bad; their last resort.

"We missed you." Jordan said with a shrug.

"Is that so?" I asked, narrowing my eyes. My bullshit radar was beeping like crazy.

"Well yeah," Jason chimed in. "It's been awhile, Am."

"Yeah." I nodded. "So what's with the stuff?" I asked, nodding towards the bags sitting on the steps.

"Oh." Jordan smiled sheepishly. "Yeah, we're kinda just living out of those right now… you know, letting our souls live free…"

Leave it to Jordan to make being homeless sound like a luxury or something; she always had a way with words.

"Oh. Well what happened with wherever you were staying?" I asked.

"It just didn't work out. Look, it doesn't matter!" Jordan said with a wave of her hand. "What the fuck have you been doing all this time anyway? We missed you!"

I tried to smile but knew I was failing miserably. "I've been pretty busy. Work, you know? Been with someone for quite awhile now; it's actually been over a year now."

"Wow?" Jordan said her blue eyes wide. "That's so awesome. So when do we get to meet him?"

'_Never.'_ I thought. I couldn't imagine Leon sitting in the same room as these two. He wouldn't even attempt to be civil with them.

"Well, technically Jason's already met him…" I said quietly.

"Oh _that_ guy?" Jason asked, rolling his eyes. "The one from that night?"

"Yeah," I nodded, giving him a dirty look. "_That_ guy; you know, he's really an awesome person."

I gave Jason another dirty look, daring him to say another thing about Leon. He wisely kept his mouth shut. I looked at Jordan and sighed, "If you wanna stay here, that's fine, but it's **temporary.** No more than a month, and I'm serious. I don't even stay here that much so…"

"Oh you rock, A!" Jordan squealed, giving me another hug.

I moved past them and unlocked my door. I stepped aside after I swung it open so they could get their stuff inside.

"I'm serious you guys." I turned to them. "There are rules too."

"You can trust us, A." Jordan said feverishly.

"Yeah, I highly doubt it." I said, throwing my purse on the couch. "No being loud, no having parties, no having other people over… at all, no having sex in my bed; I swear to God if I find out one of you has, I'll kick your ass and then kick you out. No drugs."

"You don't have to worry about –"Jordan started, but I cut her off again.

"I'm so serious, Jordan. You don't even bring that shit within a 10 mile radius of me. You don't do it in my house. All recreational activities can go elsewhere." I made sure my voice was stern. They may have suckered me into letting them stay there, but they weren't going to have me risk my sobriety.

"Scouts honor." Jordan said, holding up her hand.

"You're on your own for food and shit too." I warned. "Like I said, I'm rarely here so…"

That reminded me that I had to go grab some clothes and head over to Leon's. I hadn't intended to tell Leon about my new houseguests. I figured he wouldn't mind me crashing over there more often, and if he asked, I'd make up some sort of excuse. I knew that even though I wasn't staying there while Jason and Jordan were, he wouldn't like it, simply because he didn't like them. He knew of everything we'd been through and how they were. I was the type that wanted to please everyone, even if it meant that it wasn't the best thing for me. Leon had more common sense about shit like that.

I heard a knock on the door and I froze instantly. I knew that it wouldn't be anyone else but Leon. I didn't know why he would come by though; he knew I was headed to his house after I stopped here. I raised my finger to my lips, signaling for them both to keep quiet as I went to the door. Checking the peephole, I let out an audible sigh. I was right, it was Leon.

"Hey." I said, barely cracking the door open wide enough so I could slide out. I closed it behind me quietly, plastering a smile on my face.

"Hey." He said.

I could tell just by looking at him that he was in a pretty bad mood. I touched his arm gently, trying to get gauge a reaction. Something or someone had definitely pissed him off.

"What's up?" I asked softly.

Leon exhaled a breath and started pacing. "Just irritated, you know? Dom pissed me off by saying some hurtful shit to Letty…"

I frowned, "Dom _did what_? What did he say to her?"

"A buncha stupid shit." He shook his head. "I just needed to get away for awhile, you know? I've been driving around all day, tryin' to clear my head. Think we can go inside and talk about it?"

That was the last thing I wanted him to say. I wanted to suggest that we go somewhere, out to dinner or something instead but I knew I couldn't lie to him. I don't even know why I even considered lying to him in the first place; it was something I had never been able to do before.

"We can't…" I said, looking down.

I knew he was looking at me, waiting for an explanation.

"Jason and Jordan stopped by. They need a place to stay…" I said as if I'd just confessed a horrible sin.

"You've gotta be fucking kidding me!" Leon said. "You're joking, right?"

"It's only for awhile." I looked at him. "I figured I could stay with you while they're here…"

"Why do you even bother with them?" He snapped. "They're fucking losers who are no good for you!"

I knew he was right, but his tone of voice made my defense mechanism come out. I didn't want him chastising me over this.

"What's the big deal?" I asked, shaking my head. "I'm not going to be staying _here_ with them…"

"I don't know why you put up with them! They use people!"

"I don't mind letting them stay. They're my friends." I bit out.

Leon clinched his jaw. "Really? Are they? 'Cause last time I checked, friends _call_ every once in awhile. Friends don't only show up when they need something from you. Friends don't sucker you into stupid ass situations!"

I couldn't believe we were arguing right now; over something as small as this. I should've backed down and told him he was right, but once again, I couldn't. It was like when we had our spats over other shit; we would both start to get into a serious argument, except one of us would eventually back down. He was already in a bad mood though and I was already set on why I was right, so neither one of us were going to back off.

"You don't even know them Leon." I snapped. "They might be into some shit, but they have good hearts."

"Yeah," Leon snorted. "I bet."

"You know what? Don't come over here in a fucked up mood and start bitching me out! Last time I checked, I pay for every goddamn thing on this place, so I have a say on who can stay!" I yelled.

"Fine! You wanna have them back in your life? Go for it. They're slowly gonna start getting you back into the same shit you were into before! But go ahead; be stupid and gullible about it!" He yelled back.

I looked up at the sky for a moment, trying to focus on holding onto my sanity. I wanted to scream. Arguing with him about this was completely pointless; he was never going to understand my side of it.

"Just go home, Leon." I said, still trying to focus on keeping my anger in check.

"They're poison, Amber. They don't give a shit about you and apparently, you're never gonna see that. I don't have the energy to keep pulling you away from this shit anymore." Leon said.

I closed my eyes for a moment and took a deep breath. "Fine." I snapped. "Then don't. Don't worry about having to rescue me anymore, okay? I'm a big girl. I can handle myself; just fucking go home and deal with whatever's going on there!"

I knew exactly what I was saying and so did Leon. If he couldn't deal with what I wanted in my life, then he wouldn't have to. It was as simple as that.

Leon looked at me for a moment before nodding slightly, "Fine." He said. He turned around without saying another word and left.

I took another deep, shaky breath and went inside the house. Jordan and Jason were sitting on the couch, looking at me, completely quiet.

"Everything okay, A?" Jordan asked.

I looked at them and shook my head. I wasn't sure exactly what the hell had just happened, but I didn't want to deal with that right now.

"Why didn't you guys ever call after?" I asked suddenly. "I mean, the night I left you guys at the club, you called once, but that was only to bitch me out about leaving or to tell me about a party. Anytime after though? Why didn't you call?"

Jordan looked at Jason and they both stayed quiet. I could tell they were both encouraging the other to respond to my question.

Jordan obviously won the battle because Jason cleared his throat and spoke, "We shoulda called more. We've been busy, you know?"

"Right." I said, trying to hold back the sarcasm in my voice. "Did it ever occur to you that something might've happened to me that night and that's why I never called you back? Did you even think about **coming **by to check on me or, I don't know, actually trying to _call me_ a few more times to make sure I was alive?"

They exchanged a look with each other before Jordan chose to speak this time, "I'm really sorry about that, A. We'd heard that you left with some guy and I just thought that you had finally found your wild side…"

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes. "Of course you did."

"Look…" Jordan started but I wasn't in the mood for the bullshit.

I took a couple of steps into the hallway and paused before I got to my room, "I've dealt with enough shit as it is. I'm giving you guys a second chance to actually prove that you actually can be selfless. _Don't fuck it up_."

With that I slammed my bedroom door behind me and went to bed.


	68. Chapter 66

**Disclaimer: Don't own so please don't sue.**

**Also, please R/R. I'd love to hear thoughts, ect.**

I had gotten home faster than I ever imagined I could. I walked into the house and threw my keys onto the counter and headed straight for the kitchen. I flung open the freezer and grabbed the gallon of Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie and a spoon. I sprawled out on the couch and turned on the TV, not really paying attention to what was on.

I just couldn't wrap my head around the events of the day; Dom was being fucked up towards Letty and somehow that led to me and Amber breaking up.

_What. The. Fuck._

Maybe I shouldn't have gotten involved with whatever had happened between Dom and Letty, but she was my baby cousin and she looked so hurt by Dom. It was almost like a natural reaction for me to intervene. I liked to think that I was normally a laid back guy. I don't let everything get to me; not if it doesn't directly involve me anyway. When Sly was harassing Letty, I intervened the normal way I would… I took her in. When he fucked up the shop, I worked around it and let Dom handle it. I wasn't scared of confrontation or anything; I was just a non confrontational kind of guy.

I grabbed the spoon off of the coffee table and scooped up some of the ice cream. _Wow_, I thought wryly, _I'm acting like a chick right now…_

I thought about Amber and felt a small wave of depression hit me. I just couldn't understand how she could let those assholes back in her life. Ever since she'd stopped talking to them, everything had been better; **she** had been better.

But then again, that was Amber; if it was in her power, she'd help out anyone, anyway she could.

I contemplated on calling her as I shoveled another spoonful of ice cream in my mouth. I couldn't bring myself to do it. I was still in a bad mood and I felt like shit and I knew that if I called her, another fight would happen and it would only make things worse. Why was I stressing over the fact that Jason and Jordan were back? Amber was accommodating and sometimes gullible, sure, but over the last year and a half, she'd developed a backbone and knew how to draw boundaries. I thought about the things I'd said to her about Jason and Jordan, which were mainly true. I thought about how I told her if she got mixed up in the shit she was into before, that I wouldn't have the energy to deal with it anymore. Part of that was true. I could deal with a lot in my life, but the thought of dealing with Amber and the way she was on that shit...it just killed me. This other part of me though, this other part told me that no matter what she did, I would always be right there for her. I couldn't just let her go, no matter the circumstances.

Letty walked in just then. Her face full of relief as she plopped down onto the couch next to me and grabbed a spoon off the table.

I stared straight ahead, focusing on the Nine o' clock news.

"God, I love you so much right now." Letty said her mouth full of ice cream.

"Yeah, well, I got the ice cream for me, but I figured you could prolly use some too." I said as I cracked a grin.

"We're prolly gonna end up so fat…"

"Yeah," I laughed. "Prolly."

I knew it would only be a matter of time before Letty caught onto my silence and depression; I was right.

"But, why do **you** need the ice cream? You didn't…"

"Yeah… Amber and me broke up. Again." I said. No reason to beat around the bush this time.

"Oh, God…" Letty groaned. "What happened this time? Do I even want to ask?"

I thought about telling her about it, but decided against it. She had her own drama to deal with.

"Nah," I shook my head. "Prolly not. Just the same old shit, y'know?"

Letty rested her head against my shoulder and sighed, "Our lives suck so much right now, don't they?"

"Yeah," I said, wrapping my arm around her shoulder. "Yeah, they do."


	69. Chapter 67

**Disclaimer: Don't own so please don't sue.**

**Also, thanks to everyone who has R/R! I like hearing feedback. It kinda inspires me to write********. So please keep it going!**

**

The next morning I woke up feeling groggier and grumpier than ever; finding Jason and Jordan spread out on my living room floor didn't help my mood much either.

I grabbed a towel and jumped into the shower. I didn't have time to lag around the house; I had to be at work in less than 2 hours.

After I got out of the shower, I sat at the edge of my bed with my towel wrapped around me tight. I tried to focus on what I needed to get done today, but all I could think about was what'd happened between Leon and me. I knew deep down that he was right about Jason and Jordan, but the nurturer in me wanted to believe differently. I wouldn't call myself a selfless person, but I always had the tendency to make people happy, no matter the cost. I guess I always figured that if I were there when people needed me the most, some day they would repay me the favor.

Jason and Jordan weren't horrible people. Sure, they could be really selfish and self absorbent at times, but it wasn't who they were. I knew that if they had gotten their shit together and priorities straight, they'd be pretty decent people.

I wondered what it was that had put Leon in that bad of a mood. I'd seen him bitchy before, but not to that extent. Leon was a very calm person; he didn't like conflict too much and would generally try to stay clear of any path that led to it… unless it came to people he cared about. I don't know what Dom had said to Letty but whatever it was, it was obviously enough to set Leon off.

I sighed and threw myself backwards on my bed as the events of the night before sunk in; it was one of those moments of waking up and not really remembering anything clearly, and then all of the sudden your stomach feels in knots as you suddenly remember everything.

We both reacted harshly over this. I knew that everything Leon had said was said out of concern but the way he came at me... it was like my defense mechanism came up 10 times harder. I thought about calling him and apologizing but my pride still had a strong hold over me.

I grabbed the pillow from behind my head and threw it over my face. I wanted to scream as loud as I could. I felt so frustrated over everything. Once again, it was like I was caught in the middle and I had no way out. I couldn't just kick Jason and Jordan out for nothing; it just wasn't in me to do something like that.

Sighing once again, I sat up and grabbed my clothes for work. I promised myself that if Leon didn't call me by the end of the week, then I'd call him.

**

By the time I got home from work, I was exhausted. I was tired from the long day I had, tired from my brain forcing me to think about what to say to Leon; trying out different scenarios, different apologies.

Jordan and Jason were sitting at the dining room table, playing dominoes.

"Hey, A!" Jordan chirped as she studied the dominoes in her hand.

"Hey." I muttered as I threw my coat on the couch and worked out the kinks in my neck. "What's up?"

"Nada." She grinned. "15!" She yelled as she slammed a domino down on the table.

"Aw, shit." Jason muttered. "I set myself up for that one."

"Hell yeah you did." Jordan laughed. "Oh, uh, you got a message on your answering machine."

"What?" I asked. "From who?"

"I dunno." Jordan shrugged. I could see a small smile on her lips. "Some guy."

I went over and pressed the play button on the answering machine, turning my back to them.

"_Ms. Lindsey, my name is Howard Marshall from Great Vacations and I'd like to inform you that you have won a free –"_ I felt the little hope I had left inside me shrivel up as I pressed the 'erase' button.

He wasn't gonna call. Why would he? I don't deserve it.

"_Amber?" _I froze as a familiar voice came on next. _"It's me. Listen, I wanna talk to you. I don't even know what time you get off work today… or maybe you're just avoiding me, I dunno. Anyway… call me when you get this, okay?" _

The message ended and the tape stopped. I stared at the answering machine as if it could keep Leon talking. I considered picking up the phone and calling Leon right then, but I didn't know what to say.

Suddenly, what I would say didn't matter so much anymore. Me and Leon hadn't talked in a day and I'd missed him already. That was enough to convince me that I needed to see him, to be around him; pride be damned.

I went over to the couch and grabbed my coat and took the keys out of the pocket. "I'm gonna… I'll be right back." I muttered to Jason and Jordan as I shut the door behind me.

I found myself walking down the stairs, two steps at a time. I knew I probably looked a little desperate, but, shit, I _felt_ desperate at that moment.

My pace slowed as I saw Leon standing right by my car, his hands shoved in his pocket. He smiled a little when he saw me.

"Hey." I said quietly.

"Hey."

As we both stood there in silence, I looked down at the keys in my hand, looking for a distraction.

"I called and left you a message…" Leon said. "You get it?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I just got home actually." I admitted.

"Oh." He nodded. "Where ya headed?"

"Store." I said quickly. I had no idea why that was the first thing I thought of. I should've just told him the truth; that I was going to see him because I didn't want to just talk to him over the phone; because I missed him that much, as sad as it was.

"Oh." He said, looking down. "I just stopped by to see you, but we can talk later if you want."

"I was going to see you." I blurted out. "Not to the store. I lied; I got your message and didn't want to wait to see you, so… yeah, there." I looked at him for a moment before focusing back on the keys in my hand. "Leon, look, I'm sorry… about everything. I shouldn't have gotten really bitchy with you. I should've just let you say whatever you wanted to say and not of argued. I just got so defensive and, well, you know how that is…"

"Nah." Leon shook his head. "I was harsh to you. I let the shit with Dom and Letty get to me and I took it out on you… wasn't right. Even though I don't like Jason and Jordan, they're your friends, it's your life. I have no right to say anything about it."

I couldn't believe that we were both standing here, apologizing to each other. As long as Leon and me had been together, as many arguments we had, we never both apologized. One would usually apologize, or we would both come to a compromise, but apologize? Nah. Not when two hard headed people like us were together.

I looked at him and smiled. I was happy that we were fortunate enough to be adults when we needed to; especially over stupid shit like this.

"I'm sorry about whatever upset you. You obviously weren't having the greatest day and I didn't help matters… hey, what was it about anyway?" I asked curiously.

"It's nothing." Leon said. "Well, nothing anymore. Julie had her baby."

I blinked. "What?"

"Yep." Leon said simply.

"And?" I asked.

"And what? You know that baby ain't Dom's."

"Well no shit." I laughed. "Did he get the proof though?"

"Yeah. Thomas called him up and Dom met with him. They're in the clear now."

"Holy shit." I muttered. "What the fuck is Johnny gonna do, though?"

"Taken care of." Leon said.

"Wait… what? That fast?" I shook my head. "No drama, no… nothing?"

"I wouldn't exactly say it was drama free…" Leon shrugged. "Johnny confronted Dom at Thomas' office and Julie was with him. Dom got Julie to admit that she lied about everything. I guess Johnny and Dom came to compromise; we stay away, they stay away."

"Oh, God." I sighed as I walked over to Leon and threw myself in his arms.

I had no idea why I felt a surge of relief flood through me. It wasn't like it was **my** drama that came to an end or anything. I was so happy for Letty though… and Dom. They could finally be together in public, wherever they wanted, without worrying. I was happy for all of us. Now we didn't have to act a certain way when we were out. I didn't have to worry about anyone's safety anymore. It was a major relief; like a weight lifted off my chest.

Leon pulled me in tighter and I could feel his lips at my neck. It wasn't until he had his arms around me that I realized how cold I'd been standing there, talking to him.

"You wanna come home with me tonight?" Leon murmured against my hair.

"Yeah." I smiled. "Yeah, I do."


	70. Chapter 68

**

"Come on, people! Let's get it moving! We gotta go." Leon yelled at the staircase as everyone came rushing down.

It was Saturday night, which meant another night at the races.

Aside from Mia, Letty and Dom were practically the last one down the stairs and Letty had the biggest smile on her face. I knew that she was excited that she could finally be around Dom without any worries. She wouldn't have sit by while skank after skank approached Dom.

"I can't believe it's finally over." I murmured to Letty while we sat on the arm of the couch, waiting for Mia.

"Shit, it's about time!" Letty grinned. I honestly don't think I've ever seen her smile that big before. It was kinda cute.

"So when you gonna tell Jamie?" I asked, nodding towards the confused looking girl standing in the kitchen, talking to Vince.

"I don't know." Letty shrugged. "Whenever I figure out what I'm gonna tell her…"

I had no answers for her there; Jamie had been around for awhile now, and she didn't even know half of anything that was going on. She thought Letty was single and that Dom was some playboy who had a different girl every week, me included. In fact, I wondered what she _really_ thought of me; she thought that Dom and I were together at some point, obviously, and that I was with Leon now. I guess she'd never guess that Leon and I had been together for quite some time. When I thought about it, it kinda hurt to know that someone you know probably thinks lowly of you. I couldn't blame her though. After all, it was the image we tried to put out there.

After what felt like an hour, Mia finally came trotting down the stairs.

"Jesus," Dom muttered. "Finally."

Mia didn't bother responding to that. She just shot him a hard glare. "Ready?" She asked sweetly.

We did our normal routine; Dom was on his own, Mia and Letty too. I rode with Leon while Vince and Jamie went together.

"That girl's gonna flip…" I muttered to myself when I got settled into the car.

"What?" Leon asked.

"Jamie." I said. "She's gonna flip the fuck out when she finds out about Letty really being with Dom."

"Oh." Leon said and I could tell that he really didn't get it. "Why would she flip out?"

"Because, Leon, how long has she been around now? She's so out of the loop."

"I don't get it." Leon shook his head. "It's not that big of a deal. V didn't flip out when we told him."

"I think it's a girl thing." I said, wrinkling my nose. "But I could be wrong. Maybe she'll be okay, I dunno. But we'll find out tonight, that's for sure."

"Nah, I don't think Letty's gonna tell her tonight." Leon said.

"I don't think Letty's gonna have to tell her. It's Dom and Letty's first time at the races, being able to act like themselves and finally be together. Letty ain't gonna take that shit for granted. She's gonna be marking her territory. Jamie's gonna find out whether Letty wants her to or not." I was almost confident now.

"Yeah, well, luckily **Letty** has to deal with that shit, not us. So how 'bout we just leave all the gossip and shit behind? Just for the night…" Leon said as he parked behind Dom.

Leon and I got out of the car. I stood by the door while he went to greet everyone at the races. I never really socialized with anyone there; it wasn't anything personal, I just had a bad reputation as it was.

Girls at races wanted to get in anyway they could. And if that meant going through the guys on the inside to get to the actual drivers, then so be it. So almost every Saturday night, I'd deal with the death glares and whispering and tried to ignore it. Most of these people didn't know me. They just assumed that I was someone who'd worked her way in and was passed around to all the guys or something.

I couldn't even count how many times I'd seen a girl hit on Leon. I wasn't a jealous person, but when they do it in front of your face, you can only react a certain way. At first, Leon would reassure me, telling me that he would never even consider; and then, eventually, he would laugh at the situation; probably because I would get a certain look on my face. Anyone who really knew me knew what those looks meant: _Don't push me._

So I stood by the car, taking in the scene while Leon went to go say Hi to Hector and Edwin. It was the same thing every week; a couple of girls would circle like a shark smelling food. They'd flip their hair, smile flirtatiously. Hell, some of them would be ballsy enough to actually approach and make suggestions. I always loved the look on the guys' faces though. Hector would be straight up and tell 'em no, Edwin would practically drop his pants right there and Leon would laugh it off and tell them not interested in the nicest way possible.

I shifted my feet uneasily and looked around. I saw Letty all over Dom and Jamie approaching her quickly. _Oh Shit_, I thought as I stood up straighter. Leon walked back over and stood in front of me, his arms encircling my waist.

"Hey." He said, trying to get my attention.

"One sec." I said, craning my neck around his head so I could see what was going on.

I heard Leon sigh before he finally gave in and turned to look at the same thing I was.

"Oh." Was all he said.

"Yeah." I frowned, as I watched Letty stomp away from Jamie. "Oh."

"Yeah, I'd say she knows now and she _definitely_ ain't happy." He noted.

I couldn't help but feel a little empathy for Jamie as she stood there, looking dazed. Letty definitely had a way about her that came off as cold and right then it looked like Jamie had gotten a taste of it. I debated inwardly on whether I should go and say something to Jamie but thought better of it; she probably didn't want to talk to anyone at that point and I really couldn't blame her.

I scanned my eyes to find Letty standing next to Dom and Hector, a wad of cash in her hands.

"Is Letty racing tonight?" I asked, throwing a quick glance at Leon.

He gave a half assed shrug, "Dunno. Guess so."

I saw Hector out of the corner out of my eye give a signal to Leon. It was time already. Leon walked around the car and slid inside. I followed suit and got in too.

Once he settled in, Leon turned on the police scanners and once again, the game face was back on. I silently reminded myself that next time I came to one of these I'd have to bring a portable CD player or something. I didn't mind hanging out with Leon in the car when it came time, it was just that when it came down to business, Leon was always so serious; he was always so focused which was a good thing I guess.

Everything went smoothly for the most part; the cars lined up and the race went off without a hitch. No reports on the scanners or anything, so that was definitely a good thing.

I stayed quiet while Leon was focused. Sometimes I enjoyed times like these because I was able to think. I thought about the fact that I was staying with Leon for the time being while Jason and Jordan were at my apartment. I mean it wasn't like it was the first time I'd stayed over there or anything, but it was the first time I was starting to seriously consider Leon's offer. My lease was going to be up soon and suddenly not renewing it didn't sound like a bad thing.

I opened my mouth to say something to Leon but decided against it. We shouldn't have this conversation right now; not while we were here. Leon probably wouldn't have heard half of anything I'd said anyway.

"You okay?" Leon asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, why?"

"Dunno." He said slowly. "You just look lost in thought or somethin'"

"I'm fine." I said and gave him a smile. "See?"

"Okay, but --"He started to say but got distracted when the cars came back around. I didn't even notice who'd won.

"We'll talk about it later." He promised as he leaned over and gave me a quick kiss. "C'mon, let's go congratulate the winner."

**


	71. Chapter 69

After congratulating Dom on his big win, Leon and I headed back to the house to hang out for awhile. When we arrived, Letty was already there, sitting on the porch looking pretty pissed off.

"You okay, girl?" Leon asked as we walked up to the door.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She snapped.

Leon and I looked at each other, eyebrows raised. Obviously it wasn't a good time to talk to Letty.

"Okay…" Leon said slowly, opening the door. "Let me know if you need to talk or somethin'…"

"Yeah, thanks." She huffed.

I thought about sitting down and talking to her about the whole Jamie situation, but decided against it. She didn't want to talk to anyone right then and Dom said he'd be home a little right after we were, after he finished talking to people still hanging behind, so I figured he'd be home in no time; besides, I didn't think I could calm Letty down the way Dom could.

Leon linked his pinky with mine and led me through the house, into the kitchen.

"You want something to drink?" Leon asked, gesturing to the counter that held possibly every brand of alcohol ever made.

"I dunno." I shrugged. "I'm not sure if I wanna drink tonight…"

"What?" He asked, feigning surprise. "What's going on here? When do you **not** wanna drink?"

"Hey." I frowned, "It's not rare that I don't wanna drink…"

He just looked at me.

"Okay, fine. Maybe it is… which is _really_ _really_ sad. Anyway, I don't know… I just think I might hang onto my sobriety tonight."

"Well, wish I could say that I'm with ya on that one, but nope, sorry." Leon laughed and looked over my shoulder. "Um, Jamie's looking over here right now."

"Is she giving us a death glare or something?" I asked, trying to focus on the wall ahead of me.

"No, not really. She looks kinda… she looks kinda sad, actually." He noted. Suddenly he straightened up and looked around. "I'm gonna head to the bathroom real quick, 'kay?"

I nodded as he leaned over and gave me a quick kiss before he took off.

I leaned against the counter and started to pick at my nail polish. I wondered where the hell Mia had been. I hadn't seen her since we'd gotten here.

"Hey." I heard a voice say quietly.

I looked up and saw Jamie standing right beside me. As if it were an automatic reaction, I stood up straighter and turned to face her.

"Hey." I smiled a little. "What's up?"

"Nothing." She grumbled. "Kinda stuck here…"

"Oh." I frowned. "Vince can't give you a ride home?"

"Well it's not so much about a ride as it is about my parents. They'd kill me if I came home this late, so I guess I'm spending the night." She rolled her eyes.

"Oh." I said, "Well that's no biggie; you know you're more than welcome here."

As soon as those words came out of my mouth, I instantly regretted it. I had just opened up Pandora's Box and I wasn't gonna get out of this one. Jamie's body stiffened and she clenched her jaw.

"Welcome," she sniffed. "Right. I feel like a total dumbass right now!"

"I know you're hurt about Letty keeping some things from you, but she really didn't have a choice… none of us did." I said quietly.

"_Some_ things?" She laughed. "More like a lot. I can't believe she couldn't tell me about her and Dom. I just… its bullshit, that's what it is. I thought we were all getting close and I thought I finally found people who liked me and all this time they've been lying to me."

I groaned inwardly and wished Leon would hurry up and get back from the bathroom to save me from this conversation. I liked Jamie and all, but I really didn't have any answers for her. Suddenly I realized that Leon wasn't coming back from the bathroom because he never went. He knew Jamie was headed my way and he bailed on me. I was going to kick his ass. Hard.

"You know, I've told Letty everything about me. Even the things that I've never told anyone else…" Jamie continued. "And she kept the most important thing in her life hidden from me."

I reached into the cupboard and grabbed a shot glass. There was no way I was gonna be hanging onto my sobriety tonight. I grabbed the nearest bottle of alcohol that resembled whisky and poured a glass.

"And then… and then she tells me that I need to 'chill' and that just because I liked Vince basically didn't mean shit and _insinuated_ that it was the only reason that I was around." She added, laughing bitterly.

I managed to down one shot and immediately poured another.

"Letty has a tendency to be kinda mean…" I pointed out.

"Well obviously." Jamie retorted. "She even said that Vince wasn't all that into me anyway. What kinda shit is that?"

I downed my second shot and headed for the third.

"Sometimes the way Letty thinks… well, sometimes Letty doesn't think…" I searched my head for the right words, the right analogy, but it was all coming up gibberish. I rarely took shots, but I loved how fast they took effect. I took my third shot and decided to try again, "You know how people have defense mechanisms? Obviously, they're all different depending on the person. When mine comes up, I get like, detached or something and I just don't deal with things. Letty's defense mechanism is hitting below the belt. Granted, Letty has bitchy tendencies anyway but if you corner her, then she automatically goes for the low blow. It doesn't mean she meant it… it's just how she copes when she's cornered."

"Well it's not right." Jamie grumbled. "I was really hurt by her today."

"And I'm sure she'll apologize." I added. "When she's ready to; although no one really ever knows when that is when it comes to Letty."

"Yeah, well I won't hold my breath." Jamie sighed.

"It'll be fine." I smiled. "You worked your ass off to get 'in' you know? I think you've proven yourself worthy enough and obviously you **can** hold your own. Don't let this whole thing discourage you from, uh, the main goal."

"Which would be…?"

"Oh, you know… that conceited jack ass that walks around like he's king of the castle?" I teased.

"Oh, right." Jamie said, finally smiling a little, "him."

"Uh huh. So, yeah… make your move or whatever." I said, pouring another shot.

"Me? Make a move? Yeah right." She laughed nervously. "Hey, thanks for letting me vent. I feel a little better about everything now." She nodded as though she had to consider it. "Yeah, definitely feel better. And also because you and Leon seemed so well matched together, I was hoping it was a serious thing with you two, but I wasn't sure because I was under the impression…"

"…that I was a really fickle person?" I added helpfully.

"Yeah," Jamie said. "That."

"Well you and about 200 other people." I gestured around me. "Whatever, though. I don't care what they think of me."

I felt really light and happy in that moment; really carefree. I knew that one of the factors had to do with the alcohol in my system. The major factor seemed to be that I was in a good environment. I was surrounded by good people everyday that genuinely cared and supported each other. It was nice to have something like that.

"I'm gonna go find Leon." I told Jamie, "You wanna come with me?"

"No. I think I'll hang out here for awhile." She said.

"You sure?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "I'll be fine."

"Okay." I said. "If you need anything…"

"I know. Go ahead. Go find Leon." She insisted.

"Alright. See ya later." I gave a small wave as I headed into the family room.

I scanned the room and found Vince and Leon sitting on the couch, arguing as usual.

"Long line in the bathroom?" I glared at Leon.

Leon and Vince both exchanged a look and started cracking up.

"You totally sold me out!" I pointed at Leon.

"I'm sorry, babe." He said, the corners of his mouth twitching. "I just didn't wanna deal with the female drama."

"Well that was fucked up!" I rolled my eyes, "you coulda told me that you were bailing on me."

"You wouldn't have let me go if I woulda told you."

"You're so fucked, dude…" Vince chortled.

"Yeah, whatever." I said, glaring at both of them. I reached down and grabbed the beer out of Leon's hand and took a huge drink.

"Hey! What happened to 'hanging onto sobriety'?" Leon protested.

"That shit was out the window when you left me." I mumbled.

Suddenly Leon's hands wrapped around my waist and he pulled me down onto his lap.

"You really mad at me?" Leon asked.

"Nah." I shook my head and took another drink. "But I should kick your ass anyway."

"You have to admit that I had a good reason to get the fuck outta there." Leon pointed out.

"Yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes again, this time trying to suppress a smile. "You still suck."

"This is where I get up an' get another beer." Vince grumbled. "I ain't tryin' t'see no lovey dovey shit."

"Get me another while you're up." Leon said. "An' Amber too."

"Oh, and if you see Jamie in the kitchen, tell her to join us." I added.

Vince mumbled something under his breath, but it was too low for me to hear.

"Think he'll spit in our beers?" I asked.

"Nah." Leon shook his head. "Vince would never do that. If anything, he'd piss in 'em."

I threw my head back and laughed loudly. So loud that it should've been really embarrassing, but I didn't care.

Leon looked at me for a moment and all of the sudden he had a huge grin. "Wait a minute… you drunk?"

"Pfft." I snorted. "No."

His grin got even bigger. "Yes you are! You're fuckin' drunk."

"Whatever." I mumbled, looking away. "I had a couple of shots."

I could tell Leon was still looking at me as I purposely looked away. Finally I gave in.

"Okay, what?" I asked, finally looking at him.

"Nothin'" He shook his head. "I can't believe that you took shots. You don't even **like** hard alcohol, do you?"

"I can handle it… obviously." I giggled. "Besides, do you know how much faster you get drunk?"

"Yeah," Leon said slowly. "I can tell."

I shook the empty beer bottle that was in my hand and looked around the room. "Where the fuck is Vince?"

"Maybe he found Jamie." Leon suggested.

"Well, whatever," I said as I pushed myself off of his lap. "I'm gonna go get a couple of more beers then." I swayed a little before I regained my footing.

"You okay?" Leon asked, grabbing my hips to help steady me.

"Pfft." I said with a wave of my hand. "I'm great. I'll be back."

As it turned out, Vince was in the kitchen, talking to Jamie. I gave a quick smile to both of them as I went to the fridge and grabbed a couple of beers. I looked over at the counter and saw the bottle of that I'd been drinking out of earlier and decided to grab that too.

"You got that?" Vince asked as I tucked the bottle under my arm.

"Uh huh." I mumbled. "Thanks."

When I walked back into the family room, Leon's eyes widened at the contents in my hand. He stood up quickly and helped me unload everything onto the coffee table in front of us.

"I thought you were gonna get a couple of beers?" He asked incredulously.

"Yep." I nodded.

"So what's this?" He asked, holding up the bottle of alcohol.

"I dunno." I shrugged. "Just thought I'd bring it…"

"Yeah, well, **please** don't get crazy drunk and puke on me later." Leon sighed.

**


	72. Chapter 70

**

"Okay… okay… you ready?"

"Yep." I said.

"You sure?" Amber asked, raising her eyebrows.

I rolled my eyes. "Just give it to me."

"Okay. How many colors are there in a rainbow?"

I looked at Amber and shook my head, "That isn't a real question."

"Yes it is." Amber grinned.

"You're so full of shit." I insisted. "Lemme see."

I leaned over and tried to grab the card out of her hand, but Amber was faster.

"Nope," She said, holding the card out of my reach. "I swear to you, this is really on here."

We'd found some Trivial Pursuit cards sitting on the table and in the midst of our boredom, and because it was us, decided to make a drinking game out of it. We'd take turns asking each other a question from a card, and if we answered wrong, we'd have to take a shot. We'd both done okay until we both decided to ask the harder questions; well, questions that no sane person should ever know the answer to.

"Okay, fine," I finally relented and I actually tried to picture a rainbow in my head.

"Okay… fine, I dunno… 5."

"5? Are you serious?" Amber looked at me.

"I am so serious… fuck, I don't know! Shit, it's not like I see rainbows everyday."

"Well drink up," Amber grinned. "'Cause, yeah, there are 7."

"I still think you're full of it," I said as I poured myself a shot. "But whatever."

I took the shot and slammed my glass down. "Okay, now it's my turn."

I grabbed a card from the box and scanned for a question. She'd already had enough shots for the night, so I decided to take it easy on her.

"How many Rocky movies are there?" I asked.

Amber's face completely fell as she thought about it. "Okay, those are the Sylvester Stallone movies, right?"

"Yep," I tried holding back a grin. "C'mon, you should know this. We've watched them all together."

"You actually think I pay attention to those movies?" She groaned. "I don't know…"

"Think about it…" I said slowly.

"3?" She asked.

I covered my face with my hands, "3?" I asked. "You do realize Rocky has been around since 1976?"

"Well, I don't watch those movies!" Amber insisted.

"Babe," I sighed. "There are 5. Now, I wish I could forget about part 5 'cause it sucked, but I can't."

Amber raised her shot glass, "Well, here's to Rocky." She said and downed her shot.

I tried to hold back a smile as she shook off the bad taste of the shot she'd just taken. It was amazing to see that she really was able to hold her alcohol like she claimed. It was easy to tell when Amber was drunk. She would get really outgoing and talkative. She also tended to be a little goofy too. She basically had no reservations about her.

I watched her in amazement as she grabbed a card from the box and grinned really big.

She was definitely drunk; she just wasn't wasted like I had expected her to be.

"Okay…" she said, biting her lip. "You ready?"

"Yep." I nodded.

She looked down at the card and shook her head slightly, as if she were trying to clear her thoughts.

"You know…" She shook her head again and focused on the card. "I think I'm drunk."

I could feel a grin spread across my lips, "You think you're drunk?" I asked.

"Uh huh," She stood up, swaying a little. "Yeah, I'm drunk."

"But not wasted." I clarified.

She shook her head adamantly, "Not wasted."

"Well I'm proud of you." I teased. "My girl can hold her liquor."

"Hell yes!" She said as she pumped her fists in the air, almost falling over while doing so. "Shit," She giggled. "I'm _drunk_."

Just then I saw Letty pushing her way through a crowd of people, her eyes scanning the room. When she saw me and Amber, she nodded and made her way over.

"Hey," She nodded to me. "Amber I need to borrow you for a moment."

"Where are we going?" Amber asked, stifling a giggle. "Oh! Wait, is this like a secret mission or something?"

Letty looked at Amber and then at me, eyebrows raised.

I nodded toward Amber and then the half empty bottle on the table and made the gesture like I was drinking something.

"For real?" Letty asked, looking back at Amber in amazement.

"Oh whatever, Leon!" Amber said, swatting my knee. "_He_ drank most of it."

"Then why am I not drunk off my ass?" I challenged.

I wasn't drunk, not that drunk anyway, but I wasn't sober… not even close. But I figured I had to give Amber a hard time… especially for the rainbow question earlier.

"Anyway." Amber glared at me and turned to Letty, "Whatcha need?"

"Your wonderful services." Letty beamed.

"Oh, Jesus," Amber rolled her eyes. "Jamie gonna give it another go with Vince?"

"Yep." Letty nodded.

"Yay." Amber said with mock enthusiasm as she leaned over and kissed me before standing up. "Let's hope she actually **does** something tonight."

**


	73. Chapter 71

"Okay, I think that works…" Mia said, giving Jamie a once over before looking back at me. "Dontcha think?"

"Yeah," I nodded. "Definitely. There's _no way_ Vince will resist any attempts after he sees this. She looks…" I paused for a moment, trying to find the perfect word.

"Very feminine?" Mia offered.

"Yeah, we'll just stick with that." I nodded. "Okay, let's go."

We all crept slowly downstairs with Letty in the front and Jamie right behind her. I could tell Jamie was having second thoughts about whatever the plan was.

"I look like a fucking hooker!" Jamie muttered.

"Wasn't that the point?" Letty asked, turning to look at Jamie. "Just make sure you don't bend over, okay?"

I stifled a giggle as I eyed Jamie's outfit again. It was definitely… interesting. The skirt – Letty's skirt – couldn't have been any shorter; and the shirt… well, if you wanted to call it that…

We'd gone through the kitchen and dining room and still didn't see any of the guys. I could tell Jamie's patience was wearing thin.

"He's not even down here, Letty!" Jamie whined.

"He's gotta be here somewhere…" Letty retorted. "Ain't like he's gonna go home… V's here practically more than **I** am."

"Like you don't practically live in Dom's room?" Mia threw in.

"Hey, now!" Letty protested. "I stay at Leon's… sometimes…"

"Yeah, right..." I teased, throwing a glance at Mia. "Name the last time you can remember."

I could tell Letty was trying to remember, but couldn't come up with an answer. "Uhm…well…" she sputtered.

"I think that proves my point!" I laughed.

"Dom's bed is bigger than mine!" She blurted.

"I **so** did not need that picture in my head!" Jamie groaned, her hand covering her mouth.

"And I…" Letty added quietly. "I don't sleep right, without him."

I looked at Letty, trying to hide my surprise at her confession. Finally she looked away from all of us staring at her, her cheeks flushed.

"Okay, okay…back to why I'm dressed like this…" Jamie finally said, breaking the silence. "Where **is** he, anyway?"

I stood on my tippy-toes, surveying the room again. "Well…find one of the boys, you'll probably find the rest of them,"

"Like you three?" Jamie asked, gesturing towards the 3 of us.

"Yeah," Mia answered, laughing. "Pretty much…guess we're a foursome, now, though, yeah? Just need to find a guy for me, and we'd be a perfect set…."

I finally spotted Vince and Dom and smiled. "There they are!" I looked around them again, looking for Leon without avail. "Dom and V, 'least…don't see Leon."

"C'mon, Letty!" Jamie exclaimed, grabbing her arm and actually pulling her along a few steps with her toward the boys. She was serious about this whole Vince thing. I was shocked.

Letty grabbed her arm and pulled her back, "Any idea what you're gonna say to him?"

Jamie looked at Letty as she thought about it. "I've got **nothing**…" she groaned.

"So you think she's gonna finally do it?" Mia murmured to me.

"I… I don't know." I said, letting out a deep breath. I didn't even realize that I was holding my breath until Mia had asked me anything. I watched Jamie's face as she talked to Letty about how to approach the situation. Suddenly, Jamie's face turned white. I held back a smile as I watched Vince and Dom make their way over.

"Here we go…" Mia murmured.

And suddenly, it seemed, Jamie's fears went away just like that. As soon as Vince was in range, Jamie walked up to him and just kissed him.

I tried to hold back my surprise when Vince kissed her back.

I looked over at Mia, my eyes wide with surprise and she mirrored my expression.

"Did she --?" I stuttered.

"She did." Mia said as she grinned. "She _so_ did. Wow."

"Wow." I nodded.

I looked over at Dom and Letty, who were completely oblivious to everyone around them. Suddenly Dom scooped Letty up in his arms and headed toward the stairs.

"Well," I sighed wistfully. "Don't think they'll make another appearance tonight."

"Yeah, probably not." Mia laughed. "You wanna go get a drink?"

"Yeah," I nodded as I surveyed the room. It was either that, or watch the Vince and Jamie show. "Yeah, let's go."


	74. Chapter 72

"Mia, you are seriously not making a cosmopolitan." I shook my head and laughed. "We have all of this around us and you gotta go and be all difficult?"

"It makes me feel sophisticated." Mia said, grabbing the vodka. "Plus, it's delicious."

"It's so… girly." I said, wrinkling my nose. "But whatever floats your boat."

Mia took a sip, "Mmhmm… see this is good."

I grabbed a piece of lime and poured a small shot of tequila. "Well, let's make a toast…" I suggested.

"Here's to… happiness." Mia nodded.

"And health." I added.

"And Bret Favre." She grinned.

We touched glasses and I took my shot, immediately reaching for the lime afterwards.

"Excuse me, miss." A voice whispered in my ear as arms slid around my waist, "Anyone ever tell you how sexy you are?"

I froze my spot, the lime still in my mouth, before I turned around and swatted Leon on his arm.

"You scared the shit out of me!" I said, but with the lime in my mouth it came out like gibberish.

"That's a good look for you." Leon grinned. "Cute."

"Thanks." I grinned even wider before pulling the lime out of my mouth completely. "Where were you?"

"I was hangin' with Dom and V, went to go take a piss and I come back to find Dom gone and V and Jamie all over each other. What the hell is up with that?"

"Don't ask us." Mia held up her hands and laughed. "It's just as much of a shock to us as it is to you. You want a drink?"

"Yeah," I said, gesturing to the counter. "We got tequila and beer or if that's too hardcore for you to handle, Mia can make you a nice cosmopolitan."

"A damn good one too!" Mia said defensively.

"Nah, I'm good." Leon eyed the cosmopolitan like it was toxic or something. "I'm still feeling the last couple of shots I took."

"Leon." I said, eyeing him suspiciously, "Are you _drunk_?"

"Pfft." Leon rolled his eyes. "No. I'm a little buzzed."

"Bullshit." I grinned. "Well whatdya know Mia, Leon is actually drunk. I didn't think it was possible."

"Yeah, yeah…" Leon rolled his eyes. "C'mon, let's go home."

"No way." I shook my head. "No drinking and driving."

"We're not gonna drink and drive. Hector's gonna give us a ride home and Edwin will follow in my car."

"Hold on." I stared at him. "You're gonna let _Edwin_ drive your car? Seriously? Oh man, you are _so_ going to regret that in the morning."

He mulled that over for a minute and shuddered, "You're right." Leon said. "We'll call a cab. I'll come get the car tomorrow."

"Why don't we just crash here?" I asked out of curiosity.

Leon raised his eyebrows, "Well, 'cause I really don't feel like sleepin' on the floor. I want my bed… I want **you** in my bed with me… so we can, uh, sleep…"

"Oh, God…" Mia muttered. "Okay, yeah, I'm gonna head over there now. I love you both but I don't need to hear any sexual innuendos tonight. So… G'night and I'll see ya tomorrow."

"Bye, Mia." I gave her a small wave before focusing my attention back on Leon. "So?"

"Lemme go tell Hector and Edwin never mind and then I'll call a cab; shouldn't take too long. Wanna sit out front and I'll meet you out there in a few?"

"Sounds good." I sighed. "Don't take too long though… some other guy might come by and sweep me off my feet."

Leon laughed and looked around him. "Have you **seen** the guys around here? Good luck with that one."

**


	75. Chapter 73

After Letty's eighteenth birthday, things remained calm; well most things. Mia was still doing the whole junior college thing, Letty was on the verge of graduating and she and Dom were almost normal; Vince and Jamie… well, I guess it was safe to say that there was no Vince and Jamie.

It seemed that after the night with the kiss, Vince still wanted to slow things down. He was still unsure of what it was he had with Jamie. Most girls would appreciate a guy who cared enough to want to think things through before a mistake might've happened. Most. Not Jamie.

Jamie was slowly starting to unhinge about the whole situation with Vince. No matter how rejected she'd felt, she still came back for more. And it wasn't like Vince was rejecting her or anything; he just wasn't giving her what she wanted. So the more times Jamie came over to hang out, the bitchier she seemed to get. It was like her virginity became this huge chip on her shoulder and she wanted nothing more than to get rid of it as fast as she could.

We learned to deal with her though. I mean, I could definitely understand the frustration on her end; seeing other couples and the sexual frustration on top of that? If it were me, I'd probably be end up in a deep state of depression.

So each time Jamie got snappy with me I'd ignore it, because, I had my own shit to deal with. Leon and I were doing well… most of the time. There were times when we'd fight over some stupid shit and end up saying stupid shit and not talk for hours. Then usually we'd make up and forget about it. It was like a merry go round, and unlike the ride, it usually wasn't fun.

Mia had started dating this guy Joey from Jerry's Deli. Well, I didn't know if they were dating exactly because Mia would never talk about it. That was a huge thing on Mia's part because she loved to gossip.

I figured I'd get it out of her when we went to Jerry's that day.

"Somebody's in love…" I teased, leaning over and nudging Mia as Joey walked away from the table after bringing our food

"I am not!" Mia said, blushing. "He's just…_sweet_…"

"Just don't tell Dom…" Letty laughed, "He'll be down here threatening to break Joey's neck if Mia gets hurt…."

I grinned and shook my head. "Nah, I won't tell Dom…as long as you give us all the dirt!"

"What makes you think there's any dirt to share?" Mia asked, her cheeks flushing even pinker.

"Yeah, I don't think Dom would let that buster anywhere _**near**_ Mia's room," Letty teased, laughing.

"Letty!" Mia glared at Letty, "You're not helping!"

"You're all fucking ridiculous…" Jamie muttered.

Jesus, here we went again.

"Shit, Jamie…what'd that fry ever do to you?" I laughed, gesturing to the shredded pile on Jamie's plate. I turned back to Mia, "C'mon… how far have you let him get?"

"Just because you and Leon can't figure your shit out doesn't mean I'm gonna let you live vicariously through me!" Mia retorted.

"You're such a fucking hypocrite…" Jamie said, her voice louder, as she pointed at me.

I looked at her, my eyebrows raised, waiting for her to continue.

"You keep trying to spread Mia's legs **for** her, but then it's like me wanting to be with Vince is the worst idea ever!" Jamie snapped.

I knew that this was the end of it for me. Jamie needed to stop with her griping and just fucking deal.

"It **is** the worst idea ever!" I retorted,

"Vince is… **Vince**…" Letty said, shrugging. "You know how many skanks I've seen him with over the years? We're just trying to make sure you don't get hurt by him being an ass, which he'll undoubtedly be. And besides," she shrugged again, "it's different for you."

"What is that even supposed to **mean**, it's **different** for me?" Jamie retorted, getting even louder.

I couldn't take it anymore. Jamie was becoming unbearable to me at that point.

"It means you ain't never had to worry where your next meal was coming from and what you were gonna hafta do to get it, where you were gonna sleep at night…" I glared at her, my voice just as loud as hers.

"What, and **Mia** has?" Jamie asked, glaring back at me. "What am I supposed to do, **apologize** for my family? It's not like I got to choose them or anything!"

"I grew up in Echo Park!" Mia practically shouted, "I lost **both** my parents, my brother was in **jail**!"

"So anybody who wasn't born and raised in Echo-fucking-Park has to stay a virgin until they're eighty?" Jamie shouted, before she got up and stalked out of the restaurant.

Letty, Mia and I just looked at each other, wondering what the fuck just happened.


	76. Chapter 74

**Author's Note: Sorry it's been awhile! Been trying to find my inspiration and locking it in. It's been difficult, but I refuse to abandon this story. So here's the next chapter. Sorry it's so short and mainly filler. I'll get the next ones out as soon as I can **

* * *

It'd been a week since the _incident_ at Jerry's and no one had heard anything from Jamie. She didn't call, or come around for that matter. I grew concerned after the first few days, but I'd talked to Letty who said that Jamie was still in school, just not really talkative.

I'd be an evil person if I said that I didn't feel a little guilty for what happened. I knew she pushed me to the point, but I knew I should've let it roll off my shoulders and kept my tongue in check.

Letty, Mia and I talked about how guilty we felt and weighed our options as far as talking to Jamie again. We decided that we'd just let her come back on her own accord. If she really was angry, it would be best to just leave her alone.

So we went on with our normal routine, not bringing it up again.

Surprisingly, when Jamie's name did come up again, it was Vince who was inquiring about her.

"What's goin' on with Jamie?" Vince asked one day, completely randomly.

His question was met by a bunch of glares; 3 to be exact. Dom and Leon only raised their eyebrows at Vince, wondering why he even dared to bring it up.

"What?" Vince asked, looking completely confused.

Then, as if a gate had been opened, we all started talking all at once.

"Oh Jesus, here we go…" Leon sighed.

"…_Again_." Dom added.

"You are a fucking moron –" Letty growled at Vince.

"You're kidding me, right?" Mia muttered.

"You have a lot of nerve." I glared at Vince again.

He avoided the death glares, and looked at Dom and Leon, "What did I do now?"

"Oh, don't play dumb." Letty snapped, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl Dom was holding and chucked it at Vince.

"This is your entire fault." Mia huffed.

I nodded enthusiastically, "Exactly."

"Is this because I didn't fuck her or somethin'?" Vince asked, as he picked popcorn from his hair.

"Or _somethin'_" Mia scoffed. "V, you know what? Sometimes you remind me of such a… a _girl_."

"What? How does that equal to –" Vince sputtered.

"She means you're a fucking tease, V!" Letty amended. "You lead girls on and then leave them hangin'. You're almost like a cock tease… or whatever a male equivalent to that would be."

"So because I don't want to fuck her right away, I'm the bad guy? Aren't you three the next feminist movement, talking about girl power and shit? You hate slutty girls or 'girls without virtue.'" He even added the finger quotations and everything, "You guys believe in courting, flowers and shit before you even let someone get to 2nd base!" Vince said mockingly.

I could tell Leon found all of this amusing. His shoulders were shaking uncontrollably and I knew he was laughing silently. Suddenly, he and Dom caught each others eyes and just let out loud guffaws of laughter.

"Oh, what the fuck ever!" Letty snapped, glaring daggers at Dom.

"Will you guys quit tellin' me what to do?" Vince asked. "I'm a big boy. I know how to handle girls."

"No one's telling you to… to _fuck her_, V!" Mia insisted. "But, Jesus, if you like her, then quit acting like a shy virgin and make your move already!"

I snorted, "Yeah, God knows he ain't any Maid Marian."

"Besides," Letty threw in. "Are you **sure** you can handle Jamie? 'Cause that girl has got an 'itch' she needs scratched and she is relentless in getting that… scratch."

"That was real subtle, Letty." Mia said as she rolled her eyes.

"Well it had to be said!" Letty insisted. "If I have hear Jamie talking about how many different ways she fantasizes being with V, I'm gonna have to bleach my brain!"

Vince's eyebrows shot up, "Really? Fantasies, huh?"

"Wow, V, sounds like you might have a freak on your hands." Leon said, fighting a smile.

"Shut up." I glared at him. ""Don't even let your mind go there."

"Trust me," Leon held his hands up in mock surrender. "Not even going to. Besides," He leaned in and kissed my cheek before putting his lips to my ear and whispered, "Why bother? I have my own little freak."


	77. Chapter 75

**Authors note: I am so sorry about the lack of updates guys. I promise I am working on the upcoming chapters and will get them out as soon as they're ready. I'm gonna push this story a little further because there's so much stuff I have planned and I really want to get there. The End is in sight as well. Things are going to be progressing more and more characters will be introduced. Thank you for being patient and sticking with me.**

_XOXO_

* * *

"Leon?"

"Hm?"

"Wake up."

"..."

"_Leon_."

"What?"

"Wake _up_."

"**No**."

A sigh, "Why not?"

"Because I'm tired and it's... 4 o' clock in the morning. I don't have to be up until 7. Now leave me alone."

I rolled my eyes at his tone. "_Rude_," I said in a way that could be considered a pout and a grumble at the same time.

I tossed and turned for the next twenty minutes, trying to allow my head to wrap around what I'd just seen the hour before.

"Woman if you don't stop moving, I'm going to kick your ass out." Leon mumbled.

An apology was on the tip of my tongue, but I squashed it. "Right." I snorted instead. "Kick me off the floor. Which isn't comfy anyway."

We'd crashed at Dom's place _again_. I loved hanging out with everyone and all, but this sleepover thing was beginning to annoy me. Leon never seemed to mind. Then again Leon didn't mind much.

"Great," Leon mumbled. "Another thing for you to bitch about. Why did you want me to wake up earlier?"

"Never mind."

He glanced at the clock and groaned, "Well I'm up now. So, c'mon..."

I sighed, "I _think_ I just saw Jamie doing the walk of shame from the basement."

He groaned again, "Please don't tell me that's the reason you woke me up."

"Jesus Amber," he said, "Why are you so concerned for V and Jamie or what they do?"

"I just don't want him to hurt her..."

"Oh, so that's what it is now?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" I narrowed my eyes.

"You know exactly what it means. Just the other day you're pushing for V to do something about the situation with Jamie and now you're concerned he's gonna hurt her? You guys are so fucking bipolar."

"Hey." I said, feeling defensive, "Don't go there."

"It's the fucking truth." Leon snapped. "You can't pressure someone to do something about a situation and then judge them when they finally do. Jamie is a grown ass woman and knows exactly what she's getting into by getting involved with V. You, Letty and Mia need to focus on your own lives and relationships instead of worrying about who's fucking who."

"What the hell are you getting so bent about?" I asked. "I was making an observation..."

"No you weren't." Leon said, flinging the covers off of himself and sitting up. "You were scrutinizing it all in your head. Like you do with everything. You have no clue what happened down there and you automatically assume that it was bad; that V took advantage of Jamie or some shit and now he's an asshole for it."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. I was not jumping to conclusions. I was just concerned.

"When are you going to stop focusing on what other people are doing and focus on us?" He asked.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You won't move in with me, but you spend the night with me damn near every night. I don't get it."

"We're barely at your house. Lately we've been crashing here, on Dom's floor." I said defensively.

"Every time I try to bring up the whole moving in thing, you get defensive or grab an excuse. You can't talk about it, or we'll talk about it when your lease is up. Right now you're letting Jason and Jordan crash at your place and are pretty much living with me. So why not make it official?" Leon asked.

Fuck. I really didn't want to have this conversation right now. Or any time soon. I had my reasons for not wanting to 'make it official' as Leon had put it; I just didn't want to discuss it.

I bit my lip and shook my head, "It's complicated."

"Compli... complicated?" Leon laughed. It wasn't his typical laugh. It was humorless and full of frustration. Any minute now he was going to start yanking on his hair. "Okay, fine. Whatever." He glanced at the clock and swore under his breath.

"Leon..."

He held up his hand and shook his head. I knew Leon well enough to know that he was done with this conversation. "Don't." He said. "I don't want to hear any more excuses. You know what? I don't care anymore. If you don't want to take it to the next level, fine. I'm not going to bother asking you about it again."

I struggled to say something, anything to make it right, but it wasn't coming out. I didn't know why and that made me frustrated. It wasn't like he was asking me to marry him. But, still, I felt as though he might as well have.

"I'm sorry." I said quietly. I didn't know what I was apologizing for; maybe because I couldn't give him an answer, especially the one he wanted to hear. I knew that somehow I had hurt his feelings and that an apology wouldn't cut it. Still, I had no other words.

"Whatever." He snapped. "I'm taking a shower and heading to the shop early."

I watched him as he gathered his things without so much as a second glance at me.

The house was still quiet, the only sound was that of a bathroom door slamming.


	78. Chapter 76

"Are you okay?"

"Hello? Amber? You there, chick? What the hell happened -"

"Hm?" I responded, finally snapping out of my dazed state. I blinked and saw Mia sitting across from me, an eyebrow raised.

"Oh, so you're in there after all.." Mia mused. "What's going on with you? I've been trying to get your attention for the past five minutes.

I pursed my lips and glanced down at my forgotten cup of coffee. "Nothing." I sighed. "Just thinking is all."

"Well that's not good. Hey -" Mia laughed from the look I gave her. "I didn't mean it like _that_. It's just the look on your face..."

"Look? What look?" I asked. "I don't have _looks_, Mia."

"Oh, bullshit!" Mia said, trying to hide a smile. "The faces you can pull..."

I frowned, "What are you talking about?"

"Like that one right there." Mia pointed out. "That one right there tells me not to talk to you for at least 10 minutes. We call it 'Amber's scowl face.'"

"I do not – wait, we? Who's _we_?" I asked sharply.

"Oh you know... me, Leon, Dom, Letty and Vince. Oh, and Jamie."

"Oh my God," I rolled my eyes. "You are full of shit."

"Hey, Dom!" Mia called. "Please tell Amber about the faces she pulls." She said when Dom came into the kitchen.

"Uh uh." Dom said with a shake of his head. "She's got her bitch-face on right now. I'm good."

I suppressed the urge to grab the compact out of my purse and schooled my features.  
"Very funny, guys."

"See?" Mia said, fully cackling now. "You're doing it again. Oh my God, I can't. If looks could kill..." She said between gasps of air.

I looked at Dom who just shrugged sheepishly. "I thought you knew." was all he said.

"Oh, so what? You guys just stand around and discuss these faces I supposedly make?" I snapped.

"Well, not exactly." Dom said uneasily.

"It's just sometimes you get these looks and it's just funny. Like if we're at the races and you see some of the girls; the faces you make, I mean... your poker face is just not so good... they're cute though!" She amended quickly. "Aren't they cute?" She looked at Dom for confirmation.

"As a kitten." He supplied helpfully.

"Argh." I said, pushing back from the table. It was bad enough that Leon and I were fighting, but the fact that everyone, at one point or another, discussed the faces I made and laughed about it seriously put me in a worse mood.

"God... you guys are just..." I stammered, trying to think of some insults to throw at them and couldn't come up with anything helpful. "like _children_. Children who... who... need to grow up. So, _grow up losers._" I finished lamely and stormed out of the kitchen.

"What's wrong?" Vince asked, coming from the family room.

"Not now, Vince." I snapped and gestured towards my face. "See this? Total bitch-face right now."

"Did she just call us losers?" I heard Dom laugh.

I ignored the guffaws of laughter and left. I knew I would feel bad about my outburst later and I would probably apologize, but not just yet. I was feeling overly sensitive and emotional. I decided I needed to get out for awhile. I needed to clear my head


	79. Chapter 77

**A/N: Two updates in one week? Wow. This is a shocker. Well I have another chapter ready to be uploaded, so please enjoy :X**

I decided that I would give Leon time to himself at the shop and went to my apartment instead. I loved hanging out at Dom's with everyone, but it was nice to get away for awhile; to hang out with people whose lives didn't revolve around cars and races.

"Hey, A." Jordan said as soon as I walked in. "What's up?"

"Not much." I said quietly. "Things going okay here?"

"Peachy." Jordan chirped.

"Good." I nodded. I headed towards the end table and picked up the unopened mail, "Where's Jason at?"

"He's in the back room, talking with one of his loser friends on the phone." She snorted.

"Oh." I frowned. "Listen, I need to talk to you guys."

"Okay," Jordan smiled and put the magazine she as reading down. "What's up?"

"Maybe we should wait for Jason." I said.

"Nah, don't worry about him." Jordan said with a wave of her hand.

"I think maybe..." I took a deep breath. "I think you guys need to find a place, you know? One of your own. I can't

keep having you guys stay here and right now I'm going through some things and it's all in limbo."

"Oh,"Her smile faltered for a moment before she fixed it. "Okay. No problem."

"I'm sorry, Jordan, but it just makes more sense..." I stopped when I heard the bedroom door open and Jason came into the living room.

"Can't believe this shit." He muttered before seeing me. "Oh, hey Amber. Can you believe this shit?" He turned to

Jordan. "Fucking bullshit."

"Be kinda nice if you elaborated on what bullshit you can't believe." Jordan said.

"Ian quit the band." Jason said. "He and Billy got into it last night and he just up and quit. What a fucking prick."

I'd known Jason and Jordan for years now, and even had a little history with Jason but I'd somehow forgotten that Jason was in a band with some friends of his. It wasn't some major thing, a small garage band that played maybe a few gigs a month if they were lucky. I attended one of their shows years ago, when I'd first met Jason. They weren't bad, actually. They were actually pretty decent.

"Wow," Jordan said. "What are you going to do?"

"Fuck if I know." Jason said. "He was the lead. Can't really have a band if you don't have a singer."

"Well, that sucks." I said. "Sorry, Jase." I really meant it too. Jason had his asshole tendencies, but he was a good person. He really was.

"Yeah, well what can I do?" He sighed. Suddenly he looked as though he'd gotten an idea, and when that happened with Jason, it usually wasn't good.

"Hey," He said pointing at me. "You aren't shy right?"

"I have my moments..." I said, sounding unsure of where this was going.

"And you can sing..."

I snorted, "In the shower, sure..."

"I think I just found our replacement." Jason said suddenly.

"Oh, you're funny." I laughed nervously. "Very funny."

"What?" Jason said, tossing a look at Jordan. "She's perfect, don't you think?"

"I think she'd blow them away." Jordan nodded.

"Um, okay... first of all, what the hell are you guys talking about?" I asked shrewdly. "Whatever it is, no. No. No. No. No."

"Oh, come on, Am." Jason pleaded. "Just try it out."

"Try what out?" I asked. "I don't sing. I... I barely hum."

"I've heard you." Jason said. "We used to do karaoke remember? You're not bad."

I really didn't want to remember the days when we'd do drunken karaoke. It wasn't something that we took seriously then. Just something we'd do when we were drunk and wanted to pass the time. "Well what about Jordan?" I asked."She seems more of a band person than I am."

"Jordan can't carry a tune if it saved her life." Jason said.

"He speaks the truth." Jordan chimed in. "I'm more suited for groupie anyway."

"You're crazy." I said. "Both of you."

"Just come meet the guys. We'll play a song, you can try it out. If you're uncomfortable then I won't bug you again."

"Jason, I really don't think -"

"Look, it's just a few gigs a month... well lately it's been a few gigs a year. You can sing. You've got presence, you're easy on the eyes. You're... perfect."

"I don't know..." I said slowly.

"Please?" Now he was turning his puppy eyes on me. I wasn't going to fall for it so easily this time, though. If I was going to do this, I wanted it on my terms.

"If I even go and meet with your... friends, then I have stipulations."

"Of course." He said quickly.

"Seriously, Jason. If I don't want to do this, then this is the last I hear about it from you. No pressure, no guilt tripping, nothing. Second, I have a life and a boyfriend and if this comes between me and Leon, then I'm out. Don't roll your eyes." I scolded.

"Fine. Sorry, sorry. Anything else, your majesty?" He said mockingly.

"Yes. One more." I took a deep breath. "No drugs. Not around me, anyway. Alcohol is fine, but I don't want to be around that crap anymore. It might be unfair of me to ask of you guys, but I live a clean life now. If that's too much to ask, let me know now and we'll call it off now."

"Heard you loud and clear." Jason grinned. "So you'll do it? You'll meet the guys and give it a shot?"  
I was a little put off that he accepted my stipulations quickly, but if he was willing to compromise, then maybe it wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe this would be good for me; to have a hobby, an interest away from Leon and the races.

"Fine." I nodded. "I'll go and try it out, or whatever."

"You're awesome!" Jason said, pulling me into a hug.

"Wait a minute." I said, pushing him away. "I came over for a reason." I took a deep breath, "I love having you and Jordan around, but you guys are going to need to find a place soon. I'll give you guys two months to get your shit together and figure something out, okay?"

"Alright," Jason nodded. "Okay."

"I'm serious, Jason." I said.

"I know, I know. We'll be outta your hair before then. I gotta call Billy and let him know."

I sighed and rolled my eyes. What the fuck had I just gotten myself into?


	80. Chapter 78

"Hey,"

I looked up from the Supra I was working on to see Amber walking towards me.

"Hey," I said back, setting down the wrench and grabbing the shop towel to wipe my hands off with. "What's up?"

She opened her mouth and shook her head slightly before closing it again. "Almost finished?" She asked, gesturing towards the Supra.

"Almost. Every time I fix one thing, another problem happens, so I'm just looking it over before I put actual work into it." I threw down the shop towel and grabbed the wrench again, ready to get back to work.

"About this morning..."

"Just forget about it, okay?" I said, flexing my fingers around the wrench. I didn't want to talk about it; didn't want to get into another stupid argument about things that didn't involve us. Truthfully I was still irritated about how she refused to discuss moving our relationship further. It wasn't like we'd only been dating for months; we'd been together for years now and if she wasn't ready then I wasn't going to bring it up again.

"Leon," She sighed. "I don't wanna fight."

"Who says we're gonna fight?" I asked innocently.

"You have that tone." She said, "You're still irritated, I get that, but can we please not start arguing?"

"I'm fine." I shrugged. "And what tone do I have?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Your 'I'm going to act all calm and cool but deep down I'm still mad and pouting' tone." Amber said with a roll of her eyes.

"Oh, is that in the same category as your 'bitchface', your 'whatever' face and your 'fuck off and get the hell away from me' face?" I asked, ticking each one off on my fingers. "Oh, I see your irritated face has finally made an appearance – ow!" I took a step back as she punched me hard in the arm. "That was unnecessary." I groaned.

"Shut up." She mumbled, but I could see she was trying to hide a grin. "You're the 3rd person today to tell me that I make these so called faces. Which I vehemently deny, by the way." She added quickly.

"For what it's worth, I think they're adorable. Sometimes scary and intimidating, but adorable nonetheless." I said sincerely.

"Yeah, whatever." She rolled her eyes again. "Anyway, I wanted to stop by and say that I'm sorry and that you're right."

"What?" I blinked.

"I said I'm sorry -"

"Yeah, I know. I heard that. What was the second thing?" I couldn't help but rub this in her face. It wasn't everyday you heard Amber apologize. We could both be hardheaded when we wanted to be, her more often than me, but I knew that for her to come to me and apologize was hard for her. So I guess I was being a bit of a dick for making her say it again, but I couldn't help it.

She took a deep breath, ".. and you're right." She grit out.

"Well I think hell just froze over." I observed. "Sorry," I smiled. "You know I had to do it."

"Yeah, well don't get used to it, because you won't hear it again. Enjoy it while you can. You were right, okay? I have no right getting into Jamie and Vince's business. If she wants to be with him, then that's on her; plus, it'll stop him from bring skanks over all the time." She said slowly, as though she was thinking every word carefully before she said it. "So there." She said with a nod of her head. "I'll stay out of whatever drama there is. Are we okay?"

"Yeah," I said, pulling her closer and kissing her quickly on the lips. "We're good. So what did you do today? Mull around at the thought of having to come and talk to me? Debate internally on who was right?"

"No," She laughed but I caught the blush creeping on cheeks, "I, uh... I joined a band." She said quietly.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"I went to go see Jason and Jordan," she said, ignoring my groan and continuing on, "and apparently Jason's band were hard up for a singer so he talked me into meeting the guys and seeing if it was something I was interested in. They're really nice and I think we hit it off."

"Is that something you'd want to do, though?" I asked warily.

She hesitated before nodding, "Yeah. I think so, yeah." She said more confidently. "I mean it's nothing major. Not like we're going on a world tour or anything. I don't even know if they have gigs lined up." She frowned thoughtfully.

"Do they..."

"No," She shook her head and smiled wryly. "That was one of the many stipulations I told Jason before I even agreed to join. No drugs, and if it interferes in our relationship, I'm done."

"Well, that's... that's good." I nodded, palming the wrench.

"Do you really think so?" Amber asked, looking weary. "I mean, if this is going to be a problem..."

"No." I shook my head. "If this is what you want to do, then do it."

I meant every word.

Most guys would probably be jealous about their girlfriend's hanging out with other guys, but that wasn't even an issue for me. I knew I could trust her and Amber knew that my implications earlier weren't about that. I was just worried about _her_. I knew how she wound up in her situation in the first place. She could be too nice at times, sensible, but completely gullible. She always did things to make other people happy. She wore her heart on her sleeve and sometimes people took advantage of that.

My grip on the wrench grew tighter as I thought about them luring her back into her old lifestyle. If Jason did anything to hurt her, took advantage of her...

"Leon," Her hands were on my face, snapping me from my thoughts. She smiled and I felt all the anxiety fall away. "It'll be fine. I promise." She said softly.

"Okay," I said roughly. I looked at her and felt my stomach clench at the bad thoughts that were creeping in my mind before shaking them away again. "If they do anything... _anything_..." I stressed.

She smiled wryly, "I know. You'll get Dom and Vince to kick their asses." She added in a teasing tone.

"Yeah, whatever." I rolled my eyes. "You going to the races tonight to watch Letty kick some ass?"

"You know I wouldn't miss it," She snorted. "Not to mention I gotta keep an eye out for your ass. Make sure you're not encouraging those race-rats."

"You know," I said thoughtfully, "I'm still waiting for the day when you snap and just let loose on one of those girls."

"Leon," She sighed. "You should know first hand that I do not believe in fighting over a guy. Even if it is you. Though I have to admit that my patience is wearing thin. I've done everything I can think of to let them know you're mine; well short of pissing on your leg anyway." She added sweetly.

I laughed outright, wondering how she always managed to pull me out of bad moods without even trying. I guess it just added to the millions of reasons why I loved her.


	81. Chapter 79

**A/N: Alright! New chapter is up. Please feel free to review after reading. Definitely inspiring to me and sort of pushes me to write more! We're getting to the good stuff now. A certain character is going to make an appearance soon. Enjoy! :X**

**OoOoOo**

I stood on the sidelines, hands resting on my hips while I shifted my weight back and forth nervously. The crowd around us was buzzing with excitement, but I couldn't focus on their energy; my nerves were going crazy. I ignored Leon's irritated glares; knew he could sense my nervousness and it was affecting him. I couldn't help it. I was on edge.

"Can't help it." I murmured aloud, as if I was answering a silent question. I stretched on my tip-toes, trying to catch the cars lining up at the start line.

"It'll be fine. She's gonna do great." Leon said, rubbing my arm soothingly.

I fell back onto the balls of my feet and stumbled a bit, accidentally bumping into someone. I turned to apologize but squashed it when I turned and was met with a glare instead, "Watch it." The girl said, narrowing her eyes as she surveyed me with disdain.

"Oh, fuck off." I snapped and turned back around. If she had an issue with me, she was more than welcome to take it up with me, She wouldn't, though. I glanced back and sure enough, she was moving towards the other end of the crowd. Probably going to find the stars of this race, I thought with disgust.

I looked at Leon and saw the amused expression on his face.

"What?" I snapped, my brows raised.

"You're feisty tonight." He smirked. "Thought you weren't interested in getting into it with the girls at the races; for a second I thought you were going to throw down."

"Yeah, well I said I wouldn't fight over **you** with a girl at the races. That one was trying to fuck with** me**." I pointed out. "'Sides, with the way I'm feeling, it's not taking a lot to set me off."

"You're telling me," Leon snorted. "For a second I thought you were going to tear her eyes out."

I shrugged plainly, not really wanting to talk about it anymore. My eyes scanned the crowds again and I saw bitch-face sauntering up to the cars lined up on the start line. Well at least I was right in my assessment, I told myself. I smiled a bit as she walked between two cars, one being Letty's, as I imagined the look Letty was giving her.

"Alright," Leon said gruffly as he tugged my hand, "It's time."

I nodded absently as I followed him the Skyline, swallowing the lump that had formed in my throat.

I tugged my bottom lip between my teeth and said a silent prayer as bitch-face raised the flag over her head and dropped it, signaling the start.

**OoOoOo**

I squealed in excitement as I saw Letty's car cross the finish line, all my nervousness evaporating in an instant. She'd done it again. Fucking amazing.

The crowds pulled in together, all surrounding the racers with the exception of Letty. I saw Dom pick her up and swing her around, as Vince and Mia grinned behind him. I looked over and caught Leon doing his victory dance.

"Oh my God," I murmured, putting the palm of my hand over my mouth to hide my smile.

"What?" Leon said, face splitting into a grin.

"Seriously?" I asked, failing to hide my amused smile. "Your victory dance is... amusing."

"My victory dance is _awesome_." Leon amended, "Everyone loves it."

"Sure." I said, grinning.

"They do." He said.

"Okay," I raised my hands up as if admitting defeat. "Whatever you say."

"You're relentless." Leon said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder as we walked towards everyone else.

"You're amusing." I shot back, "Okay. I'm done now. I promise." I added when he gave me a look.

I watched as he and Dom clapped each other on their backs, buzzing with excitement as they went over the details of the race.

I moved towards Letty's car, letting my fingers drag across the cool smooth surface of the hood. I nodded to Mia as I leaned against the car, waiting for the excitement to die down.

"Hey, watch the paint." I heard Letty say. Without thinking I gave her the finger and she returned it quickly with a smile. "Unless you're gonna put in the hours to fix my paint job..."

"Like I didn't spend hours on it the first time around," Mia laughed. "Besides I know you and Dom have done worse to it."

"Ugh," I said pushing myself away from the car, "I don't want to think about that."

Now I knew how Letty felt when she'd inadvertently heard about me and Leon's... escapades. If only they knew what we'd done in the garage.

Shaking my head of the amusing thought, I spotted Vince and Jamie across the way. I wasn't going to say a damn thing about it, though. I definitely didn't want to get involved in all of that again.

"Vince isn't that bad, really." Mia said. "It's just weird, thinking of him being with one of our friends."

I pursed my lips, wondering if I should respond to it or just stay quiet. I heard Leon's voice in my head, all the comments he'd made. The logical ones. "We wanted them to get together in the first place, remember?" I pointed out, remembering Leon's logic. "So Vince would stop bringing so many skanks around the house."

Letty and Mia didn't say anything to that, but I'd known that I was right in saying it. We couldn't judge Vince or Jamie in this situation. If they were happy, then who were we to tell them otherwise?

I suppressed my shock as I saw Letty wave Jamie over. I darted my eyes when Jamie gave Vince a kiss before heading over.

Bottom lip tugged between my teeth, I felt the nervous energy return as I wondered what Letty was going to say now. Jamie deserved her happiness, plain and simple.

I risked a glance at Letty and released the breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding when I saw the grin on her face.

"So," Letty grinned when Jamie made her way over. "You and Vince, huh?"

No one could help but laugh at the blush Jamie gave.


	82. Chapter 80

I woke up from a painful crick in my neck on Dom's couch the morning after the party. I looked over and saw Amber slumped on the opposite end, her body twisted uncomfortably as she used her jacket for a pillow. I grimaced as I sat up, rolling my shoulders to work out the stiffness and grabbed the blanket that was resting on the back of the couch.

I moved slowly, removing her legs off of mine as I draped the blanket over her. I paused, dragging my palms over my face and groaned. I needed a cup of coffee badly.

I felt Amber shift and looked over, to find her looking back at me – albeit a little bitchy.

"Hey," I said, clearing my throat to get rid of the roughness. "Sleep well?"

She pulled herself up, "Pfft." She snorted, wincing, "Right. I swear, when I when the lottery, or... you know, come into a lot of money, I'm buying Dom new couches. It's like sleeping on concrete." She groaned.

"Well I hope you're not still planning on crashing here once you win the lottery." I said.

"Yeah, I hope not." Amber said, massaging her neck. "Whatever, I gotta pee."

I followed her off the couch and stopped in the kitchen as she made her way upstairs. "Did you want coffee?" I asked.

She didn't say anything, just waved her hand and kept walking.

I knew that meant that she didn't care either way; I took that as a yes.

I felt like a 2 year old waiting for candy as I smelled the aroma of coffee hit the air. I was seriously shuffling back and forth in anticipation. A thump upstairs and someone squealing, "Jesus! Oh... hell no." pulled me out of my focus as I heard footsteps on the stairs, at a pretty fast pace, even.

"Um, Leon?" Amber said, frowning as she bit her lip, "There's someone in there." She said, stabbing her finger towards the stairs.

"Whatdaya mean?" I asked, peering over her shoulder.

"Not behind me." She grumbled and darted her eyes up. "Up. There. In the bathroom." She hissed.

"Okay." I said slowly. "So tell them to get the fuck out."

"Kinda impossible seeing how he's hunched over the toilet, knocked out." Amber said. "You need to go up there and check it out. Oh my God," She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth. "What if he's... what if he's _dead_?"

I rolled my eyes, "Whoever it is, they're not dead." I said, trying to squash whatever crazy scenarios were popping in her head. Which if I knew her as well as I thought I did, she was envisioning every scenario possible. Maybe Dom killed the guy in a rage over Letty. Or maybe Vince got too drunk and beat the guy to death. Or maybe Johnny Tran stashed the guy's body in Dom's bathroom with hopes to frame him. Wouldn't put it past him honestly.

"Just... just make 2 cups of coffee and I'll check it out, okay?" I grumbled, feeling put out for having to deal with this shit already.

I didn't wait for a response as I headed toward the stairs, my impatience making me take them 2 at a time. When I reached the top I spied Dom coming out of his bedroom, closing the door quietly. Probably so he wouldn't wake Letty.

"What's up man?" Dom asked, rubbing his eyes.

I held up my index finger to my lips and nodded towards the bathroom. "Someone in there." I mouthed.

"What?" Dom frowned and glanced over at the bathroom door. "Oh fuck this." He mumbled and pushed past me.

I followed him to the bathroom, the find some guy, hunched over the toilet, his head facing the wall. Couldn't tell much about him though. He looked young. Maybe about 18 or 19. Scrawny as hell.

"Hey," Dom grumbled as he gave the kids foot a tap with his own. "Time to get up and out, man."

The kid barely stirred, so Dom gave him another kick... this one a bit harder. "Up."

Finally he moved, just a bit and turned his head towards us, eyes barely cracked open.

"What?" The kid grumbled, wiping the drool from his chin as he looked back and forth between me and Dom.

"Look kid, if you want to party here after the races, that's fine." Dom growled, "but let's get one thing straight, this ain't no hotel."

"Oh," the kid said, grabbing the side of his head and shaking it a bit. "S-s-sorry."

"You got 3 minutes." Dom said, turning to exit the bathroom.

"You're Dom, right? D-dominick Torreto, I mean." The kid corrected quickly off of the look Dom gave him.

"Depends on who's asking." Dom growled.

"I-I-I heard about you." He replied. "You're a good racer. I thought... well hoped I could meet you; maybe help you out with any problems you might be having with your cars."

Dom and I exchanged glances and chuckled. I could tell what Dom was thinking just then. Cute kid. Now time to go back home to mommy and daddy and keep on playing with them hotwheels.

"Already got a mechanic." Dom said, jerking a thumb at me. "And he's pretty good."

"Y-yeah..." the kid stuttered, throwing a nervous look at me, "But -"

"2 minutes." Dom said shortly.

"I've seen you guys working. You're a good team." He cleared his throat. "I just I might be able to help you out a little more. I know about cars and -"

"And what is that exactly?" I cut in.

"What?"

"What do you know about cars?" I asked again, leaning against the door frame.

"1 minute." Dom said.

"I, uh... I know a way to increase the performance on your girlfriend's car -" he paled when he saw the look on Dom's face, took a deep breath and continued. "f-for free."

"Bullshit," I snorted. "Nothin's free."

"Small fixes... until you get money to put actual mods in the car. She—she's good, but she's going to wear out the engine if she keeps racing it like that."

"And what do you propose we do?" Dom said quietly.

"Well, for starters, you could, uh... do a 2.5 to 3 inch exhaust and not bother wasting any money on headers. You'll be able to save the money for turbo parts that way. If you want to pick up more speed, you can cut the ac fan and that will help. You can the take the distribution block off, t-that will increase the feel to the clutch peddle and make it easier to bleed -"

I looked over at Dom to find him mirroring the same expression as I was; eyebrow raised, trying to smother the look of being impressed.

"- there's always weight reduction."

Both Dom and I looked back at the kid and what his last suggestion had been.

"Are you implying something?" I growled.

"No." He said. "No... I meant... I meant any interior not used, er... um, the catalytic converter even. That will add some horse power..."

"So where'd you learn all this?" Dom asked coolly.

"My dad." He responded. "But, you know.. he got locked up last month and I've been trying to keep busy ever since. I mean, cars are all I've ever known. I'm not cut out for a nine to five job."

"Okay." Dom nodded and I stood up straight as he circled the poor kid. "I like your ideas, but I want to test them out. I'm willing to add you to the team... as long as your not some rapist serial killer, right?"

"N-no." He said, wincing.

"Gimme your wallet." Dom growled. "Take that to Vince. He'll know what to do with it." He said to me after tossing me the wallet. "If it checks out, then we'll take it from there... what the fuck is your name anyway?"

"Jessie." the kid responded quietly. "My name's Jessie."


	83. Chapter 81

**A/N: Yay. Another chapter up! Will have another one coming up either tonight or sometime soon. Thanks for sticking with me. Don't forget, reviews are love **

"So, he's just going to stay here now?" I asked quietly, flicking a quick look at the guy nursing a cup of coffee at the other end of the room.

"Maybe," Leon shrugged. "I don't know."

"Seriously?" I asked, eyebrows raised.

"What?" Leon asked with a shake of his head.

"You guys don't know him." I hissed. "What if he's a felon or something?"

"Dom looked into it already. He's clean." Leon retorted.

"That still doesn't prove anything." I muttered. "He could be a sociopath who hasn't gotten caught yet."

Leon set his coffee cup down with a quiet thump and looked at me, "Really?" He asked.

I shook my head, "I'm just saying..."

"Well it's not for _you_ to say anything." He pointed out, albeit a little snappy. "It's **Dom's **house and **Dom's** decision and if he wants the kid around, then the kid stays."

"Hey," I frowned. "Don't get irritated with me. I was just saying that you can't trust people so easily -"

"I know exactly what you were saying and all I'm saying is don't take it up with me. Dom's a good judge of character so I trust his decisions. If you have a problem with this, take it up with him, not me."

"Whatever." I rolled my eyes. "You don't understand."

"No, I don't." Leon said. "Do you have to be distrusting of everyone? I mean, I know there are some shitty people out there but you don't have to be cautious of everyone, you know."

"Actually," I bit out. "I do. I know this Jesse kid isn't out to get me, but we don't know him. I have a right to worry about the people I care about. I've been around a lot of people who seemed like they had good intentions but proved otherwise, remember?"

"How are Jason and Jordan, by the way?" Leon said, eyebrows raised.

I sucked in a breath and huffed out a humorless laugh. He had to go there didn't he? He always did. "You know what?" I hissed. "Fuck off."

And with that I pushed away from the table and made my way to the door. I ignored the questioning looks Mia and Letty threw my way and went outside.

I stopped at the end of the driveway, leaned against Letty's car and clenched my fist. I shook my head again, placed my hand over my stomach where Leon's words had hit me.

"Hey, what's you're problem?"

I whipped around and went towards Leon with no hesitation. "What's my problem? You can't let it go, can you?" I asked through clenched teeth. "It always comes back to _them_."

"I-"

"You can't fucking let it go." I said, poking my finger into his chest. "I get it, Leon, okay? You hate them. You think they're bad for me. Whatever."

"Oh, I'm sorry for being concerned about your well being." Leon retorted.

"I'm not planning on doing that shit again." I said, feeling my frustration build. "They're my friends whether you like them or not Quit treating me like I'm a child. I'm an adult, okay? I can handle myself."

"Really? Because-"

"Oh my God," I shook my head. "If you mention it again, I'm going to scream. That was years ago. Let it go! I admit to my stupid choices and mistakes. I understand how close I was to losing control but that had nothing to do with you. Yes, I was reckless and stupid but we weren't even together. How are you going to throw something in my face that had nothing to do with you?" I paced for a moment and turned back to him. "Why do you have to keep throwing my shitty past in my face?"

"I'm sorry," He sighed. "I didn't realize I was doing that. It just irritates me that you let them take advantage of you."

"I get that you're worried but you need to move past it. You need to accept the fact that they're going to be in my life as long as I allow it. Are they the greatest friends? No. But you have no idea what they've done for me. Please stop judging me for my decisions."

"Okay!" He snapped. "Fine, whatever. I'll let it go. I won't mention it again, but you need to understand that I will never stop worrying. You talk about how we're all too trusting, when you won't even acknowledge that you're exactly the same way."

"No-"

"Yes." He cut in. "Yes you are. You and Dom are similar, you know. You put up a hard front, but you're nurturers at heart. You look for the underdogs and bet on them." Leon shook his head and chuckled, "Personally, I think it has something to do with your shitty pasts'. Maybe you try to give other people something you've never had or something; a second chance, a reason to be needed, whatever. That's not a bad thing," he added. "it's just that the problem when you're a nurturer is that you eventually become an enabler." He looked away and shrugged lazily, "but then again, what do I know? I'm not a fucking psychologist or anything."

It got quiet then. I thought about what he said as I chewed on my bottom lip. He was right, as usual, I just didn't want to admit it right then. I stuck my hands in my pockets and moved to go back into the house when Leon touched my arm.

"I'm sorry for being an ass." He said quietly.

I shrugged, "What's new?" I smiled a small smile at his expression and leaned up and gave him a quick kiss, "It's cool." I said. "I'm going to head in. Guess I gotta go introduce myself to Jesse, seeing how he's probably going to be sticking around."


	84. Chapter 82

**A/N: Oh, wow... 2 chapters in 2 days hurrah! So yeah, we're getting there, I promise. This chapter was very interesting to write, probably because I know what's to come. Up's and down's... every relationship's got 'em! Thanks for sticking with me :X. Remember: reviews are love 3**

* * *

That Sunday, Leon and I stayed at his place, in his bed watching movies all day; just the two of us. It was different. It was nice. We'd debated for a good hour on who got to choose what movie to watch. He was in a Bruce mood, which to Leon meant either Willis or Lee - didn't matter - while I was feeling like watching something happy. When I told Leon this, he immediately shut my suggestion down before I could even list the movies.

"No," He'd said. "I'm not watching some lovey dovey bullshit."

"Oh my God," I said. "You don't even know what I want to watch."

"Does it have Meg Ryan in it?

"..."

"No. No way. All Meg Ryan movies are either whiny or just irritating. Can't do it."

"Fine." I huffed, throwing two movies to the side. "What about this one."I held a movie out. "It has wit and humor-"

"Oh, God." Leon said, rolling his eyes. "That guy? Seriously?"

"What's wrong with him?" I asked defensively.

"Lemme guess," Leon said, handing the movie back to me. "You think he's charming, right?"

"I- well, sure... I think he's funny-" I frowned.

"Amber, please. He plays the same character in all the movies I've seen him in -"

"Which is how many?" I countered.

"More than enough." He shot back, "Always manages to play the bumbling English man who comes to his senses at the end of the movie."

"Which adds to his charm." I sniffed.

After 45 minutes of whining (mostly by me) and debating (mostly him) we'd compromised. I promised him I would watch any Bruce movie with enthusiasm as long as he watched what I wanted (excluding Hugh Grant and Meg Ryan) with no complaints.

I snuggled close to him as the credits rolled for my movie and sighed. I thought about when I was a kid, and how much I loved movies. How I wished life could be a movie; a romance genre of course. I thought about how I'd wanted my own prince charming to come and rescue me. When it seemed like that was never going to happen, I hadn't given up hope, I'd just changed the plot line. I wouldn't be rescued from my situation with my mom, so I got my shit together and pushed myself out of it. That was partially the reason why I moved to California; to get my Hollywood ending. When I met Jason and Jordan, things got worse, and soon after I realized that my life was more of a angsty sob story than a romantic comedy. Romantic comedies never had a drugged out leading lady. The leading lady was always quirky and funny; always surrounded by good people who stood by her regardless of her decisions. She meets a man, and just knew. Just knew that he was the one. Maybe they started out as acquaintances, or even enemies. But in the end, when the timing was right, one of them would declare their feelings in a very public way (although **that** I could live without. I had a thing about over excessive PDA) and they'd get their happily ever after.

I realized soon after that something like that wasn't realistic. No one could obtain something like that. People had flaws; couples fought and broke up, and sometimes love didn't conquer all. You spend your life with the wrong person, settle for someone because you're too lazy to look for someone else, or maybe that one person just never arrives.

I looked up at Leon and smiled a bit. Honestly, I couldn't imagine not having him in my life. I loved him for everything he was and what he'd done for me. I knew I wasn't disillusioned though. He wasn't someone I concocted from my movie fantasy. He wasn't perfect and neither was I.

"Are you happy?" I asked quietly.

"Um, yeah?" Leon said slowly. "Wait, is this about the movie? Because I know it looked like I was falling asleep but -"

"No," I laughed and snuggled closer. "Just curious is all. I was thinking about us and I know_ I'm _happy. Are you?"

"Of course," He said. "I mean... as happy as I can be, I guess..."

"What do you mean?" I asked, playing with the drawstring on his sweats.

"I can think of a few goals I'd like to fulfill..."

"Like what?"

He took a deep breath, and I knew he was searching through his head for his list. "Like actually owning a shop of my own and making some real money. I love running Benny's shop and all, but it is his shop. I mean, he's going to get out sooner or later and then what happens? I go back to making 15.00 an hour, busting my ass doing the same shit I'm doing now? No thanks."

"Sounds like you thought a lot about this." I said

"Well yeah," Leon shrugged. "I guess you can say I want what everyone wants. I want to buy a house, get married... run a good business and make good money so I can support my family with no worries."

"Well lucky for you that you have a good amount of years ahead of you before you actually have to meet those goals." I said as I sat up and tweaked his nose.

"You know," He said looking away. "My mom's been talking... well, bitching actually... "

"Oh, God." I murmured. "She doesn't think I'm pregnant again does she?" I felt my face flush as I remembered the last time she'd come the conclusion. I loved Lorraine to death, but my God when the woman felt conviction in her hunches, she really ran with them. It had taken Leon weeks to convince her that I wasn't pregnant; he even went as far as having to explain that yes, we used protection and when she countered that condoms weren't necessarily that effective, he explained to her that I was on birth control to boot. He had come home that night red faced and mortified at having just discussed our sexual relationship with his mother.

"No!" Leon said and I felt him shudder, knowing he had the same flashback I did, "She's just..." He shifted uneasily, "She's just been a little antsy, wanting to know what our next step is and exactly how serious we are."

I knew my eyes were wide when I finally understood exactly what Lorraine was nagging him. I felt my face flush again and tried to focus on the TV, hoping to say something articulate. "Oh."

"Yeah..." Leon said uneasily. "I told her to back off. But you know my mom. She's..."

"Relentless?" I supplied helpfully.

"Catholic." He amended. "She means well. Honestly I'm lucky she's not like the other catholic moms in the neighborhood. They love to preach about how sex outside of marriage is a sin and don't even get them started on contraceptives. Regardless, I am her only kid, y'know? She's always going to want to be involved."

I nodded my head and cleared my throat, "So, uh... so what did you tell her?"

"I told her that we haven't gotten to that point yet; that when we do get to that point, she would be the first to know."

"Oh," I said again, still completely unable to articulate a damn thing. "well... good."

"Yeah," Leon said. "Still didn't stop her from lecturing me, though. You shoulda heard her, 'You gotta do something soon, honey. She's a beautiful girl and she's not going to wait around forever.'"

I snorted at his imitation of his mom. "That's a horrible impersonation." I said. It was a lie, it was pretty dead on. Not like I was going to let him know that though.

"So is it true?" He asked after a moment.

"Hm?" I asked.

"What she said. If I don't get down on bended knee sometime soon, are you going to bail on me?" Leon asked in a teasing tone, though there was some seriousness there.

"No." I laughed nervously. "I'm perfectly content with how we are. So please don't feel pressured to, you know, do something... embarrassing."

"Why?" Leon asked, looking down and then back at me. "Would you say no?"

"Oh my God," I groaned and put my hands over my face, in a lame attempt to cover the flush creeping onto my face.

I felt Leon's hands pull mine from my face, "C'mon. I'm being serious here."

"I..." I sighed, "I don't know, honestly. Wait. It's not that I would say no, just that... you know how I feel about this whole thing. I guess I don't see the point in fixing something if it's not broken. I'm not one of those girls, Leon and you know it. I'm not the girl who needs a ring on her finger in order to make something forever. I don't need the huge fairytale wedding and the house with a white picket fence. I just want to make sure you don't feel pressured to do something you aren't sure about; make sure you understand my whole stance on this."

I watched his face the whole time, trying to gauge his reaction. He didn't seem upset, or offended at anything I had said. Good. I loved knowing how honest I could be around him.

"Okay." He said.

"Okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," he smiled. "Okay. I mean, if you aren't down with a commitment, then that's cool."

"Oh shut up." I said, swatting his arm. "That's not what I meant and you know it. You know damn well that we're in a monogamous relationship," I glared at him to make sure he was on the same page as me. "let's just see how this works out. Who knows where it'll lead."

I felt an instant regret at my last words. It was a feeling I was well accustomed to, actually. Regret. Everyone feels it at some point or another, but mine seemed to be constant. Most of the time the regret seemed to be over something that was beyond my control – my dad leaving my mom which sparked her resentment for me – but this one wasn't. I thought about Leon's words to me the other day... about me being a nurturer. He was right, of course, but it was when he told me I was an enabler, that... that was new. I wanted to deny it, but deep down I knew he was right about that, too. It was unnerving, how well Leon knew me. He was great at reading people... the quiet ones usually were.

The regret reeled me back in and I wanted more than anything to accept whatever it was that he was offering me, but I couldn't. It was then that I knew the exact reason why. Because no matter how nurturing I could be, I never let anyone get too close. I knew it was one of my defense mechanisms; yet another thing to add to my flaws.

I thought about Jordan and how she pulled people in with her broad personality and exuberance. I remembered how I wanted to be like that... to have such a magnetic pull on people and still remain emotionally unattached. I wasn't a wallflower, wasn't quiet or reserved.. but I never could get the attention she did. I put my effort into listening to people's problems. Gave them the shoulder to cry on; pointed out all the pros instead of the cons. I managed to pull people in... not a lot, but the ones who would end up mattering to me. Still, I kept them at an arms length, close enough to touch and comfort, but far enough to where they couldn't touch me where I was vulnerable the most... my heart.

It was unfair and I knew it. I couldn't help it, though. I knew that Leon was observant and even he knew of my reservations. So I made a promise to myself: work on me and work on allowing those who mattered to me to get everything I had to offer, if not the best.

I snuggled close to Leon, said a silent prayer to keep being as self aware as I had been lately, and silently thanked whoever was responsible for bringing these people into my life... most importantly, Leon.


	85. Chapter 83

**A/N: Aaaaand we're back! This chapter is nothing but smut so if it's not your cup of tea, please feel free to skip it! Thanks for sticking with me :3**

I was sitting on the couch, curled up as I read the latest Cosmo magazine, when I heard the front door open and slam. I looked at the clock and frowned. It was only 3:30, Leon shouldn't have been home just yet. Tossing the magazine and blanket to the side, I sat up straighter and craned my neck to see what was going on.

Leon walked in, his hair completely ruffled as he headed straight for the kitchen and towards the fridge.

"Hey," I said smiling, "You're home early."

He ignored me as he reached into the fridge and grabbed a beer.

"What's up?" I frowned. "Something wrong?"

"Everything's wrong." He grumbled.

"Okay," I said quietly, smoothing my skirt for a moment before turning to go and hide behind my Cosmo until he cooled off.

"I have customers breathing down my neck to get their cars finished and I don't even have an idea on when I can get one done. The rent on the shop is going up and I don't know how the fuck I'm going to even afford it if I can't take on more work. Which I can't. Between the bills here and at the shop, customers breathing down my neck and lack of sleep, I'm going to go fucking insane!"

"Well can't you just ask Dom and Vince to put in some extra hours? I'm sure they wouldn't mind. There's always Letty and Jesse, too." I suggested.

"They're busting their asses as it is." Leon snapped. "Fuck it, I'm going to go get in the shower."

I took in a deep breath to calm myself. He wasn't mad at me, I knew that, but it was still hard when he took it out on me.

"I'm going to go over to Jason's for awhile. We have a rehearsal tonight." I said, turning to grab my stuff and get out of the line of fire.

"Oh, that's just great." Leon snapped. "Fucking fantastic!"

I stiffened and turned around to face him, "Why are you mad at me?" I yelled.

"I don't know!" He admitted harshly. "I'm just pissed off right now, okay?"

"Well don't take it out on me," I snapped back.

I knew I should've just walked away; let him go take his shower until he cooled down, but as usual my mood matched his.

"How long are you going to be?" Leon asked.

"A couple of hours." I said with a roll of my eyes, "I don't know. Depends on how long you're planning on being an asshole."

He was on me then, no warning, no chance to get another word in. He had his hands on my ass, pulling me closer to him as his mouth devoured mine. I struggled a bit, as he pulled me closer to him, but then I pulled myself together and matched his kisses with the same amount of ferocity. He was looking for an outlet for all the stress he'd been feeling lately; I was more than happy to help him out with it.

His mouth never left mine as his hands met my shoulders and tugged the straps of my tanktop down. I pulled away to help him get it off, but he was quicker. His impatience showed as he yanked the tanktop down, most of it covering my stomach but leaving my bra exposed. His eyes strayed down and he watched the movements of my chest as I took in gulps of air. His eyes seemed to grow a darker shade of green and I felt my stomach knot. He was definitely in a feisty mood.

I had no more time to think as he pounced again, this time grabbing my ass and lifting me. I wrapped my legs around him on instinct and we were back to letting our mouths battle. I felt my back hit the wall and gripped his shoulders for support as Leon pushed his hips against mine. His fingers splayed against my neck as he pulled my head forward and his lips found my neck. His hand moved lower, traveling down to my thigh until they reached the spot that ached the most.

My head thumped against the wall and I let out a small cry when his fingers circled my clit.

"Leon," My tongue felt so thick it might have come out as a mumble.

"You're so wet," He groaned against my neck as his fingers slowed. I wanted to cry out when they stopped rubbing completely, but then I felt him slide two fingers inside of me and I found myself moaning instead. I gripped his shoulders tighter, feeling a small burn in my stomach as he pumped his fingers faster.

"Leon," I tried again. "More... need more."

My ache was still there, throbbing with need. I still felt empty and wanting. I needed him inside of me.

"You know what I'm waiting to hear," Leon said gruffly, letting his fingers slow down until the slow burn started to fade.

I wanted to growl in frustration. Even in our most intimate moments, we had to challenge each other. It was part of being hard headed. We always wanted to see who could bring the other to their knees first. I reached behind his head and tugged his head forward, "Please," I groaned and leaned forward to kiss him again. I nipped his bottom lip with my teeth and ran my tongue across it to ease any pain if I'd done it a little too hard.

I felt his fingers brush against my clit again but only briefly as he reached and pulled my panties to the side. I sucked in a breath when sank into me, completely filling me.

I gripped his shoulders, meeting his thrusts as he groaned something. I couldn't make out anything he was saying except, "Hot...wet...tight... _fuck_."

The tension inside me coiled as I gripped his shoulders tighter, sinking my nails into his skin. "Leon," I gasped. It sounded like begging though I didn't know what I was begging for; maybe to ease the tension, to help ease the fire I felt growing with every thrust.

Finally I felt the tension coil tighter, so tight I thought I would die if I never got a release. Suddenly ecstasy took over me as the fire inside me turned to a liquid heat and I cried out as he pounded into me, drawing out every bit of satisfaction from my body.

Leon kept going, his lips on my neck as his mouth sucked and nipped at the sensitive spot. Still, as boneless as I felt, I matched him thrust for thrust and felt another spark inside of me, before it turned to a fire that burned faster than before. "Oh my God," I gasped as my second orgasm approached and I knew Leon was close, too. His hips sped up and then pleasure took over.

I slumped against him as he gave me a lazy kiss. "That was... nice." I sighed.

He set me down and reached for a towel, "Just nice?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, maybe a little more than nice." I amended with a lazy smile.

He pulled up his pants and gave me a wolfish grin, "You begged."

"I did not." I said affronted.

"You did." He insisted.

I reached down to fix my skirt and shook my head, "I can't be held accountable for the things I say in a moment like that."

"Still," Leon said, puffing out his chest proudly, "I won."

"Oh, I didn't realize this was a contest. Alright," I nodded. "You're on."

I walked up to him slowly, "I'm going to get into the shower and get refreshed. You're more than welcome to join me." I let a small smile play across my lips and ran my fingers across his chest. "If you accept this challenge, well, be prepared because I'm going to bring you to your knees."


End file.
